Energy Paradigm Research Articles

Lightweight Gramian Angular Field classification for edge internet of energy applications.

With adverse industrial effects on the global landscape, climate change is imploring the global economy to adopt sustainable solutions. The ongoing evolution of energy efficiency targets massive data collection and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for big data analytics. Besides, emerging on the Internet of Energy (IoE) paradigm, edge computing is playing a rising role in liberating private data from cloud centralization. In this direction, a creative visual approach to understanding energy data is introduced. Building upon micro-moments, which are timeseries of small contextual data points, the power of pictorial representations to encapsulate rich information in a small two-dimensional (2D) space is harnessed through a novel Gramian Angular Fields (GAF) classifier for energy micro-moments. Designed with edge computing efficiency in mind, current testing results on the ODROID-XU4 can classify up to 7 million GAF-converted datapoints with ~ 90% accuracy in less than 30 s, paving the path towards industrial adoption of edge IoE.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10586-022-03704-1.

Carbon dioxide splitting and hydrogen production using a chemical looping concept: A review

The gradually increasing atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases has caused global climate change and subsequent environmental problems. To negate the emission of greenhouse gases from human activities, converting captured carbon into value-added products and changing our energy paradigm from fossil fuels to hydrogen both are significantly investigated. Chemical looping technology can offer several advantages since CO/H2 production efficiency can be enhanced due to the inherent product separation and autothermal operation. This report presents a brief review of the chemical looping process combined with CO2 or H2O splitting to provide CO or H2, respectively. Thermodynamic analysis was carried out to determine viable transition metal oxides. Various oxygen carriers for the chemical looping CO2/H2O splitting were categorized according to their structural characteristics. In addition, studies on different reactors, including fluidized-, moving bed-, and fixed bed-types which have proven their potential for realizing large-scale operation of chemical looping processes were summarized. Based on past advances and additional aspects of chemical looping, the authors strongly believe that this process offers a promising commercial technology that will contribute to carbon neutrality.

A near-field study of VO2/(100)TiO2 film and its crack-induced strain relief

Temperature-induced metal–insulator transition (MIT) in vanadium dioxide (VO2) has been under intense research interest for decades both theoretically and experimentally. Due to the complex nature of electron correlations, the underlying physics behind the MIT in VO2 has yet to be fully grasped. In this work, we utilize the fine resolution of the scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope to investigate the MIT in an epitaxial VO2 thin film on the (100)R TiO2 substrate with mid-infrared light. Bidirectional tweed-like metal–insulator phase coexistence patterns are observed and understood under the Landau free energy paradigm. More interestingly, delayed metallic nucleation is observed near the surface cracks due to local strain relief. This research proposes ideas in investigating the temperature–pressure phase diagram and tuning the interplay between local strain and MIT in oxide thin films.

Optimal design of a 5th generation district heating and cooling network based on seawater heat pumps

This work presents the design and the thermo-economic optimization of a novel layout of a 5th generation district heating and cooling network, for a residential district located in the Pantelleria island (South of Italy). The research focuses on a novel arrangement based on two bidirectional low-temperature neutral rings. For both rings, the fluid temperature is controlled by means of two groups of heat pumps cooled by seawater. The investigated layout also includes wind turbines and photovoltaic panels for power production. This layout will be used as a driver to promote the transition from the present centralized energy paradigm to a novel one, based on small-scale distributed generation integrated with renewables. The paper aims at evaluating the energy, economic and environmental savings achieved by this novel layout. A thermo-economic optimization is also implemented in order to determine the set of design/operating variables, maximizing system economic profitability. To this scope, a detailed approach is implemented, developing a dynamic simulation model of the system in TRNSYS 17. The developed simulation tool is able to mimic the real time operation of the system, for whatever weather condition, boundary and/or design variable. The results of the simulations show that the proposed layout achieves significantly positive results, with a primary energy saving and avoided greenhouse gases emissions equal to 133% and 134%, respectively. The economic profitability of the system is limited with the payback period close to 15 years, due to the high capital cost of the plant. The renewable electric production of the plant meets 57% of the district demand, although only 37% of this amount is self-consumed by the district. The study also includes a sensitivity analysis suggesting to limit the capacities of solar and wind fields to reduce the electricity in excess sold to the grid.

Environmental information access and management in the Lithium Triangle: is it transparent information?

Lithium is a key element in the new energy paradigm. In the Lithium Triangle countries, extractive pressure has increased considerably in the last decade. Lithium from salt flat mines could become a development driver for the region, but what is the real impact of the activity? Are all the cards on the table? To explore these questions, this article analyses the transparency and availability of environmental information on lithium mining from the framework of environmental governance. It finds that the current forms of information dissemination show situations of inequality, invalidating a fair and equitable transition to electromobility.

How can South Africa advance a new energy paradigm? A mission-oriented approach to megaprojects

Abstract Green transition is a ‘wicked’ problem in that it is complex, systemic, interconnected, and urgent. In this paper we advance a ‘mission-oriented’ approach to reconceptualize energy megaprojects within a systemic, cross-sectoral, and challenge-driven policy framework for energy transition. This approach is operationalized through a discussion of project-level policy instruments including directional public finance, public procurement, and several types of conditionality. These instruments are geared towards shaping markets and industrial supply chains for green transition, and managing risks and rewards associated with energy megaprojects. We also look at the opportunities offered by a more decentralized energy system and the importance of building up state capacity and green coalitions supporting energy transition. We discuss this mission-oriented approach through a deep dive on the South African experience of energy megaprojects with a focus on the restructuring of its public utility, Eskom, as well as opportunities for sustainable industrialization.

Probing the Impact of an Energy and Transportation Paradigm Shift on the Petrochemicals Industry

Probing the Impact of an Energy and Transportation Paradigm Shift on the Petrochemicals Industry

Energy Transition: A Labour Law Retrospective

Abstract This article investigates labour law and industrial relations implications of the energy transition from fossil-fuels to renewable energy sources. It discusses how and why different energy paradigms and their political economies have affected labour and industrial relations institutions over time. It is argued that sustainability of working conditions depends largely on organised labour’s access to, and control over, the natural, energy resources on which workers’ livelihoods depend. Drawing on a novel literature that considers energy sources as a core analytical referent, the following trajectories are presented and discussed. While the possibility of labour control over the mining and distribution of coal has favoured the development of democratic institutions and welfare state in Western jurisdictions and in recently developed economies in the so-called Global South, ‘petro-capitalism’ and the political economy of nuclear energy have contributed to the dismantling of internal labour markets and to the crisis of classical labour law and industrial relations institutions. In contrast to oil and nuclear power, renewable energy sources could favour the transition from an extractive economic model to one that is generative and participatory: by democratising the political and economic power of energy, renewables might be able to better serve human welfare, labour and the environment. Technological progress will be a decisive factor in facilitating the democratisation of the energy system. No less important are the institutional, political and legal variables which will be needed in the process of concluding the energy transition and building the society that future generations of workers and citizens deserve.

Thermal, thermodynamic and exergoeconomic investigation of a parabolic trough collector utilizing nanofluids

The exploitation of solar energy facilitates the renewable energy paradigm. In this regard, parabolic trough collectors (PTC) are considered as a useful set-up to absorb solar energy. Simultaneous study of thermal, thermodynamic, and exergoeconomic performance of PTC systems paves the way for designers and manufacturers to not only have a better insight into understanding the underlying concepts about the operation of PTC systems but also to find the most effective and cost-effective circumstances. This study aims at analyzing a practical PTC system by considering an evacuated absorber tube with glass cover, non-uniform heat flux, and taking into account the convective and radiative heat losses. Obtained results demonstrate that employing the glass cover, especially in the low Reynolds numbers regime could remarkably reduce the heat losses up to 22%. The present analysis indicated that considering oil temperature-dependent properties reduced the friction factor around 94 % in the low Reynolds numbers regime compared to that of the cases based on constant properties. In this work a CFD code in the OpenFOAM software was developed to simulate both laminar and turbulent regimes with Lien cubic k-∊ model (non-linear eddy viscosity model) by adding three types of nanoparticles (Al2O3,Cu,andSWCNT) individually into the synthetic oil. Moreover, the Buongiorno’s model (BGM) which considers Brownian, thermophoresis, and turbulence diffusion phenomena was implemented to model the nanoparticles and base fluid interactions. It was found that adding nanoparticles and increasing the Reynolds number have no substantial impact on thermal efficiency of the system, whereas an optimum Reynolds number was found for exergy efficiency and net profit per unit transferred heat load (ηp) of the system. Although injecting SWCNT into pure oil led to augmentation of average convective heat transfer coefficient, PEC, and exergy efficiency, it was found not to be cost-effective. It was established that the obtained results by homogenous model (single-phase model) and BGM were roughly the same, with relative difference of less than 3.1 and 2.4% for the average Nusselt number and friction factor, respectively.

Analysis of Air Transport Stake Holders Perceptions and Motivations about Long Term Innovations Towards Sustainable Aviation Energy Paradigms

Aviation sustainability and GHG emissions reduction are academic and social trending topics. Air transport intensive energy use together with its constant pre-pandemic growth and the difficulties to evolve towards non-carbon-based energy paradigms, conform an environmentally “worrying frame”. Emissions reduction initiatives comprise aircraft technology and operation improvements, tax schemes, compensation and trading, efficient infrastructures, and sustainable aviation fuels. All of them have been subject of extensive academic analysis. Aspects that have been almost neglected in this analysis are the personal motivation and commitment from air transport stakeholders to pursue longer term technology developments towards sustainable energy paradigms. This paper explores those aspects by using a novel methodology where experts were interviewed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (2017-2018) and during the pandemic (summer 2021), aiming at exploring the evolution of their beliefs regarding aviation sustainability, focusing in the expectations regarding aviation energy paradigm changes. Additionally, a survey was run among professionals of the aviation and energy sectors performing a quantitative analysis, triangulated with the interviews’ results. Aviation professionals keep relying on air traffic recovery and growth despite the COVID crisis. They are also conscious of the difficulties of the sector to enact the application of emissions reduction technologies and policies. However, there is not consensus in the strategies with the highest potential, although some tendencies have been identified: whilst enthusiasm about aircraft electrification has cooled down, a higher degree of reliance is put in new engine architectures. Fiscal measures are either poorly valued or not well understood. Aviation should leverage the consensus on new engine architectures to achieve tangible emissions contention in the mid-term, increase efforts to improve and explain emissions trading and compensation schemes, keep developing new technologies to unveil their real potential, and manage social expectations realistically, stressing its social and economic sustainability dimensions.

Energy States

Abstract This article works with a comparative, hemispheric approach to address potential sites, propositions, and sources for postextractive energy transitions. Specifically, the focus is on case studies from within the United States and Latin America to consider energy paradigms and their future in relation to the “energy state,” or the centralized governance apparatus that has historically organized power infrastructures. Like the physics term that references any discrete value of total energy that remains fixed, but that is potentially mutable because of its transitive properties, the modern energy state is addressed as an entity that has the capacity to undergo massive reconfiguration and transition. The energy state is not discrete, however, and is embedded within a global infrastructure of capitalist dominance, power inequalities, and commodity contingencies. Despite its current imbrication with the colonial/modern infrastructures of petrol extraction, the energy state, it is argued here, has the capacity to be reimagined and remade. By focusing on popular movements within the western hemisphere, and by learning from the lessons of energy pasts, presents, and futures, the article proposes the move to radical interdependency, which could be legislated by a substantially altered state apparatus during the implementation of a new energy paradigm. Unsurprisingly, land rights, social and multispecies justice, and antiracist social movements are central to enlivening the new energy state.

A novel transactive energy trading model for modernizing energy hubs in the coupled heat and electricity network

A high or full contribution of renewable energy resources (RERs) in future modern grids is inevitable due to a great need for developing an environmentally friendly society. In modernizing renewable-based energy hubs, optimal energy management has been rapidly challenged due to intermittences of RERs in multi-vector energy networks (MVENs) over recent years. This paper proposes an innovative peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading model for energy management of multi-vector energy hubs to consider the unpredictability challenge of RERs. For this purpose, the transactive energy paradigm is used to advance a new sustainable energy sharing environment for creating time-to-time energy balance by enabling energy hubs to exchange energy with each other freely. The uncertainty quantification was conducted by applying an autoregressive integrated moving average for generating multiple scenarios and the fast forward selection method for reducing them to the plausible number in the stochastic programming process. The coupled IEEE 10-bus and 10-node district heating network was designated as the test system for analyzing the optimal energy management of the distributed hub energies. The results designated the effectiveness of the proposed transactive energy-based P2P energy trading model in providing momentous financial and technical benefits for community energy hubs in MVENs.

Evaluating and forecasting direct carbon emissions of electricity production: A case study for South East Europe

ABSTRACT Global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is continuously growing stronger. Realization of the direct correlation of quality of life to the environmental aspects of the energy sector has been at the heart of the new energy paradigm. In light of this, ensuring full awareness of current and potential emissions, with regard to market circumstances and policy implications, is crucial in acquiring a better overview on the current issues and the future development of the energy system. Research presented in this paper offers a method for calculating direct CO2 emissions from electricity generation. It also offers an insight into current issues and future prospects of the South East Europe electricity market. Observing various scenarios, the region’s emission intensity is evaluated, with special consideration given to the potential impact of varying carbon prices.

STATUS OF PREPAREDNESS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM TO COUNTER REAL AND POTENTIAL THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY AND NATIONAL INTERESTS OF UKRAINE IN THE CONDITIONS OF EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CHALLENGES

The relevence of the paper is due to the need to substantiate the challenges and problems that hinder the processes of modernization of domestic vocational education and may pose a threat to national security and national interests of Ukraine. Purpose: to identify the main external and internal challenges for the system of vocational education in Ukraine, to analyze the identified problems, to determine the degree of their impact on the system of domestic vocational education, to substantiate the ways to overcome them. Methods: analysis of scientific and other sources – to identify external and internal challenges of the vocational education system; expert assessment – to rank the identified challenges, to determine their impact on the system of domestic vocational education and the level of danger to the national interests of Ukraine; systematization and generalization – to substantiate the ways to overcome these problems. Results: based on the analysis of modern legislative and regulatory sources, materials and recommendations of international and national scientific-practical conferences, seminars, webinars, publications in professional printed and electronic publications, a list of external and internal challenges for vocational education in Ukraine is formed; the problems determined by them are substantiated; the degree of their influence on the system of domestic vocational education is determined; proposals are formulated for their solution. Conclusions: A number of challenges have been identified: the external challenges (transformation of world labor markets due to changing energy paradigm, introduction of rational models of consumption and production, intensification of "green policy"; transition of developed countries to a new technological system and digital economy; information war against Ukraine; staff shortage labor markets and the resulting strong labor migration from Ukraine) and the domestic challenges (public and economic demand for a new quality vocational education system; high unemployment, shortage of competitive skilled workers in domestic labor markets). Based on the method of expert evaluation, we have identified the problems that, in the conditions of hybrid war, may pose the greatest threat to the national interests of Ukraine (low quality of professional training of teachers of vocational education institutions; insufficient provision of educational programs for critical thinking of modern youth; teachers and students of vocational education institutions), its economic security (inconsistency of quality of training of future skilled workers to the requirements of modern employers, insufficient formation of entrepreneurial, career, self-educational competencies of graduates; low career guidance; education), as well as environmental and energy independence (low level of energy saving and environmental competence of graduates of vocational education institutions, low motivation of partners to participate in the modernization of vocational education).

Energy consumption and carbon footprint of perovskite solar cells

Recently, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) emerged and promise to break the prevailing solar energy paradigm by combining both low-cost and high-efficiency. PSC technology actually shivered the solar photovoltaic (PV) community as a strong candidate to rival the efficiency of traditional PV devices; in less than 12 years its efficiency was improved from 3.8% to almost 26%. Despite the tremendous and successful effort for obtaining PSC devices with high power conversion efficiencies, little efforts have been devoted to study fundamental engineering aspects essential for future industrial production. In particular, this work makes an analysis of the energy consumed and the carbon footprint of producing a 3-mesoscopic PSC 8 × 8 cm2 module with an 8.7% efficiency in a life cycle perspective. A “cradle-to-gate” study was performed, using as much as possible primary data. Considering the PSC module as the functional unit the results show that the mesoporous layer deposition is the dominant term concerning the energy consumption. Regarding the carbon footprint, the gold layer, in particular gold, is the main factor. Changing the electricity source to renewable photovoltaic energy reduces significantly the carbon footprint. The results stress the need to replace gold, and use less severe operational conditions in the module production.

Distributed control strategy for transactive energy prosumers in real‐time markets

AbstractThe increasing penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) has led to increasing research interest in the cooperative control of multi‐prosumers in a transactive energy (TE) paradigm. While the existing literature shows that TE offers significant grid flexibility and economic benefits, few studies have addressed the incorporation of security constraints in TE. Herein, a market‐based control mechanism in real‐time markets is proposed to economically coordinate the TE among prosumers while ensuring secure system operation. Considering the dynamic characteristics of batteries and responsive demands, a model predictive control (MPC) method is used to handle the constraints between different time intervals and incorporate the following generation and consumption predictions. Owing to the computational burden and individual privacy issues, an efficient distributed algorithm is developed to solve the optimal power flow problem. The strong coupling between prosumers through power networks is removed by introducing auxiliary variables to acquire locational marginal prices (LMPs) covering energy, congestion, and loss components. Case studies based on the IEEE 33‐bus system demonstrated the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed method and model.

Contributions of bioethics towards a new paradigm of energy

Contributions of bioethics towards a new paradigm of energy

ЦИФРОВОЕ ИЗМЕРЕНИЕ СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВА АСЕАН И РОССИИ

The paper gives insights into the potential of ASEAN-Russia dialogue in the digital area. Starting from an outline of benefits and disadvantages the Fourth Industrial Revolution brings ASEAN, the author proceeds with exploring digital support that the association gives its multilateral economic initiatives, as well as ASEAN’s efforts to intensify digital cooperation as a self-sufficient direction across Southeast Asia. Finally, the paper assesses directions and measures that can strengthen ASEAN-Russia ties. Although extant research on ASEAN-Russia dialogue reveals the extent of progress and remaining problems, as well as defines major substantive issues and areas with true potential, mainstream views on its strategic directions remain stagnant in the paradigm of energy, arms transfers, agriculture and space exploration. The academic value of the article is that it takes a step forward in specifying and assessing real possibilities of ASEAN-Russia interaction offered by the increasing digitalization. In the author’s opinion, as in the present international circumstances the room for maneuver in ASEAN-Russia relations is narrowing, an emphasis on instrumental components of cooperation, among which cybersecurity-related measures are of crucial importance, may be rewarding.

Contributions of bioethics towards a new paradigm of energy

Contributions of bioethics towards a new paradigm of energy

The role of the FEC company technological development indicators on the way towards sustainable energy

The aim of the study is to substantiate the necessity of changing the approaches to selection of the list of FEC company technological development indicators for working out the corporate strategic planning documents, including implementation and realisation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies in the framework of national economy transition to sustainable energy. Activities in the field of energy saving and energy efficiency ensuring sustainable development with the focus on economic, social and environmental issues are considered as the basic direction ensuring achievement of planned CSR indicators. The methods consist in the systematic approach to assessing the technological development considering the new energy paradigm, disaggregation of existing indicators of complex international and Russian CSR ratings, as well as systematisation of performance indicators. The results are presented in the form of a system of technological development indicators assessing and rating the energy companies based on analysis of the CSR strategies' implementation.