Green Production Technology Research Articles

Terbium- and samarium-doped Li2ZrO3 perovskite materials as efficient and stable electrocatalysts for alkaline hydrogen evolution reactions

The preparation of highly active, rare earth, non-platinum-based catalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) in alkaline solutions would be useful in realizing green hydrogen production technology. Perovskite oxides are generally regarded as low-active HER catalysts, owing to their unsuitable hydrogen adsorption and water dissociation. In this article, we report on the synthesis of Li2ZrO3 perovskites substituted with samarium and terbium cations at A-sites for the HER. LSmZrO3 (LSmZO) and LTbZrO3 (LTbZO) perovskite oxides are more affordable materials, starting materials in abundance, environmentally friendly due to reduced usage of precious metal and moreover have potential for several sustainable synthesis methods compared to commercial Pt/C. The surface and elemental composition of the prepared materials have been confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The morphology and composition analyses of the LSmZO and LTbZO catalysts showed spherical and regular particles, respectively. The electrochemical measurements were used to study the catalytic performance of the prepared catalyst for hydrogen evolution reactions in an alkaline solution. LTbZO generated 2.52 mmol/g/h hydrogen, whereas LSmZO produced 3.34 mmol/g/h hydrogen using chronoamperometry. This was supported by the fact that the HER electrocatalysts exhibited a Tafel slope of less than 120 mV/dec in a 1.0 M alkaline solution. A current density of 10 mA/cm2 is achieved at a potential of less than 505 mV. The hydrogen production rate of LTbZO was only 58.55%, whereas LSmZO had a higher Faradaic efficiency of 97.65%. The EIS results demonstrated that HER was highly beneficial to both electrocatalysts due to the relatively small charge transfer resistance and higher capacitance values.

Advances in green hydrogen generation based on MoSe2 hybrid catalysts

Green hydrogen production technology is of great significance in realizing energy transition and combating climate change. Recently, with the rapid development of nanomaterials and catalytic technology, transition metal dichalcogenides represented by MoSe2 have attracted wide attention in the field of hydrogen production. This review comprehensively reviewed the applications and recent progress of MoSe2 in green hydrogen production in terms of photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production, water electrolysis and methanol-assisted water electrolysis for hydrogen production. The active site and electronic structure-related optimization of MoSe2 was also carried out through various optimization strategies to improve its green hydrogen production efficiency. The challenges and perspectives of MoSe2 hybrid catalysts were also concluded. This review showed a comprehensive overview of MoSe2 hybrid catalysts by summarizing the optimization strategies for catalyst property modification and their application in hydrogen production, which would be helpful for relevant progress understanding.

High Temperature Solid Oxide Electrolysis for Green Hydrogen Production.

Global warming and energy crises have motivated the development of renewable energy and its energy carriers. Green hydrogen is the most promising renewable energy carrier and will be fundamental to future energy conversion and storage systems. Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells (SOECs) are a promising green hydrogen production technology featuring high electrical efficiency, no noble metal catalyst usage, and reversible operation. This review provides a timely summary of the latest SOEC progress, covering developments at various levels, from cells to stacks to systems. Cell/stack components, configurations, advanced electrode material/fabrication, and novel characterization methods are discussed. Electrochemical and durable performance for each cell/stack configuration is reviewed, focusing on degradation mechanisms and associated mitigation strategies. SOEC system integration with renewable energy and downstream users is outlined, showing flexibility, robustness, scalability, viability, and energy efficiency. Challenges of cost and durability are expected to be overcome by innovation in material, fabrication, production, integration, and operation. Overall, this comprehensive review identifies the SOEC commercialization bottleneck, encourages further technology development, and envisions a future green hydrogen society with net-zero carbon emissions.

Integrating green hydrogen production with renewable energy-powered desalination: An analysis of CAPEX implications and operational strategies

The study examines how sustainable energy transitions can meet freshwater needs in green hydrogen production. It proposes four configurations that combine polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis with renewable energy-powered desalination methods, capable of both continuous and intermittent operations. This study evaluates the capital expenditure (CAPEX) implications of integrating solar or wind energy with seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) and multi-effect distillation (MED) desalination to produce green hydrogen. It examines the capacities of renewable energy sources, the effectiveness of energy storage solutions, and the performance of various desalination methods, particularly their combined impact on economic viability and overall project costs. An SWRO system intermittently powered by wind energy is identified as the most cost-effective, reducing CAPEX by 46%. The results emphasize the practical benefits of integrating green desalination with green hydrogen production technologies.

Understanding the Impact of Conditioning Protocols for Water Electrolyzers on Durability

The global push towards climate neutrality has intensified research efforts on green hydrogen production technologies. Among them, proton exchange water electrolysis (PEMWE) stands out as a highly efficient technology for producing green hydrogen using renewable energies. Nevertheless, a significant reduction in the cost of PEMWE while maintaining its durability over its operational periods is imperative. The DOE’s Hydrogen Earthshot target aims to achieve $1 per 1kg of H2 production within the decade. Reducing the amount of expensive iridium catalysts also reduces the durability of PEMWE. Hence, understanding the degradation mechanisms of low Ir loading PEMWE holds utmost importance. One key step in the evaluation of PEMWE is the break-in or conditioning step. Ensuring optimal conditioning is crucial to guarantee the peak performance of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) before assessing the durability of the catalyst thereby ensuring representative and reproducible results.This research aims to comprehensively evaluate various conditioning protocols for PEMWE and their impact on durability. Utilizing a combination of electrochemical, electron, and X-ray characterization techniques. Accelerated stress tests (AST) will be conducted after each conditioning protocol to evaluate the degradation rate of the catalyst. Ex-situ characterization of the MEA post-conditioning as well as post-AST offers a comprehensive understanding of how the catalyst’s initial state, such as the iridium oxidation state, following the conditioning step directly influences the durability. The goal is to develop an optimal conditioning protocol for PEMWE, that considers the performance and durability challenges associated with low catalyst loading. Acknowledgment This research is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office through the Hydrogen from Next-generation Electrolyzers of Water (H2NEW) consortium with support from Dave Peterson and McKenzie Hubert.

Preparation of Ir/TiO2 Composite Oxygen Evolution Catalyst and Load Analysis as Anode Catalyst Layer of Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzer.

Electrochemical water splitting is regarded as an emerging green and sustainable hydrogen production technology because of its zero-carbon process. However, the overall cost of anode materials in a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE) is high due to the use of noble metal Ir. It has been proved that introducing carrier materials to reduce the content of Ir element is a feasible cost-reduction program. Here, the Ir/TiO2 composite material was prepared by the polyol method and used to catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction, which could effectively reduce the load amount of Ir in the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). In addition, the theoretical load of Ir was obtained by model calculation and the polarization curve test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to discuss the relationship between Ir load in MEA and voltage loss and conductivity. The results show that MEA has lower voltage loss and better conductivity as the Ir load is in the range of 0.204-0.304 mgIr/cm2. Altogether, an effective method to reduce the Ir load of PEMWE anode was proposed under the premise comprehensive consideration of both catalyst design and MEA preparation in this work.

Assessment of hydrogen production technologies from agricultural residues in Vietnam

Green hydrogen is one of the alternative options to decarbonize the energy sector and limit the global temperature rise below 1.5 °C. Vietnam has various biomass resources, including agricultural and forestry by-products. However, this country has not had any research to evaluate the suitability of hydrogen production technologies using biomass sources in general and agricultural residues in particular with all relevant factors as a basis for investment and development. The paper assesses three green hydrogen production technologies from agricultural residue, including pyrolysis, gasification, and fermentation, by simultaneously applying the Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat (SWOT) analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The hydrogen production technologies and agricultural residues in Vietnam are used as case studies. The obtained results on the weighting factors indicate that the economic indicator accounts for 50.7 %, followed by the technical indicator at 27.8 % and the environmental indicator at 21.5 %. Among the hydrogen production technologies, gasification is the most prioritized technology, at 43.3 %. The priorities of pyrolysis and fermentation are not considerably different, at 29.6 % and 27.1 %, respectively. Rice straw has the highest hydrogen production capacity with a total potential of about 50.43 billion m3 while the lowest total hydrogen production potential is cassava pomace with a value of 0.26 billion m3. Designing and simulating the hydrogen production process from agricultural waste using selected technologies will be studied in further work to finalize and verify the used assumptions, methods, and information in this study.

Advancing Sustainable Power: A Comprehensive Review of Technologies and Strategies for Green Electricity Production.

The transition to sustainable energy systems is essential to address global environmental challenges, with green electricity production playing a crucial role. This comprehensive review examines the advancements in green electricity production technologies, focusing on solar, wind, biomass, and hydroelectric power. By exploring the efficiency, cost trends, adoption rates, and environmental impacts of these technologies, the review highlights their potential to transform the energy landscape. Solar PV and wind energy have seen substantial improvements in efficiency and cost reduction, while biomass and hydroelectric power offer valuable contributions to a diversified renewable energy portfolio. Despite the challenges, ongoing research and innovation are driving the adoption and integration of these technologies, paving the way for a sustainable and resilient energy future. The findings underscore the importance of leveraging a multifaceted approach to green electricity production, emphasizing the need for continued advancements and strategic integration of renewable energy sources.

Improving smallholders' capacity building by creating an enabling environment for sustainable crop production

CONTEXTSustainably improving food production to meet the needs of a growing population necessitates a dual-pronged approach involving both top-down policy support from governments and grassroots support from social organizations. The combination of these two elements can yield comprehensive and systematic solutions for sustainable crop production, particularly in smallholder-dominated agriculture. However, integrating these approaches to empower smallholders with advanced agricultural technologies and enhance crop sustainability remains a subject that warrants further investigation. OBJECTIVESWe explored collaborative practices for the integration of resources using a dual-pronged approach to empower smallholders for sustainable crop production. METHODSThe DPSIR framework was applied to our case study. Using stratified and random sampling, 258 farmers were recruited from Quzhou, China. We divided the participants into three groups: six farmers who had worked with China-founded Science and Technology backyards (STBs) for 15 years as leading farmers (LF), 90 neighboring farmers (NF) who were closely related to LF, and 162 traditional farmers (TF) from three villages in Quzhou who were not related to STBs. An intervention experiment focusing on the LF and NF was conducted. Interviews were conducted with 258 farmers after harvesting wheat. In addition, we used statistical analyses to examine the differences in yield and economic and environmental benefits among the different groups. Multiple linear regression was used to determine how different factors affected wheat yield, net profit, and technology adoption. We used a mediation model to analyze the mechanisms by which enabling environmental creation affects sustainable production by empowering farmers. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSCompared to TF, LF and NF increased social value by 31% and 25%, technology trust by 16% and 5%, and willingness to accept green production technologies and adoption behavior by 20% and 21%, respectively. In addition, LF and NF achieved wheat yield increases accompanied by net profit gains of 86% and 13%, respectively, and LF demonstrated 53% and 52% reductions in nitrogen surplus compared to TF and NF, respectively. The study found that the synergy of social organizations and government support promoted farmers' knowledge generation and sustainable agricultural production by increasing their social value and technology trust. SIGNIFICANCEThis study underscores the pivotal role of STBs in bridging these two approaches and facilitating an environment that empowers smallholders for sustainable crop production. This study provides initial insights into a multi-actor, co-participation-based approach to promoting farmers' capacity, which provides important information for future agricultural policy development and implementation.

Development of Dehydrogenation System for Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier with Enhanced Reaction Rate

Owing to the massive expansion and intermittent nature of renewable power, green hydrogen production, storage, and transportation technologies with improved economic returns need to be developed. Moreover, the slowness of the dehydrogenation reaction is a primary barrier to the commercialization of liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology. The present study focused on increasing the speed of dehydrogenation, resulting in the proposal of a triple-loop dehydrogenation system comprising reaction, heating, and chilling loops. The reactor has a rotating cage containing a packed bed of catalyst pellets, which is designed to enhance both heat and mass transfer by helping to detach precipitated hydrogen bubbles from the catalyst surface. In addition, the centrifugal force aids in isolating the gas phase from the LOHC liquid. A dehydrogenation experiment was conducted using the reaction and chilling loops, which revealed that the average hydrogen production rate during the first hour was 52.6 LPM (liter per minute) from 26.3 L of perhydro-dibenzyl-toluene with 1.5 kg of 0.5 wt% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. This was approximately 48% more than the value predicted with the reaction kinetics measured with a small-scale plug flow dehydrogenation reactor with less than 1.0 g of 5.0 wt% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. The concept, construction methods, and results of the preliminary gas infiltration, flow visualization, and reactor pumping experiments are also described in this paper.

Empirical Research on Factors Influencing Chinese Farmers’ Adoption of Green Production Technologies

During a critical period of structural reform in China’s agricultural supply chain, accelerating the promotion and application of green production technologies emerges as a pivotal strategy to ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products while advancing agricultural modernization. This study empirically examines the factors influencing farmers’ adoption of green production technologies using an ordered logistic model based on survey data collected from 533 respondents in Shandong Province. The survey targeted regions where major economic crops such as corn and soybeans are cultivated, employing simple random sampling to ensure the data’s representativeness and reliability. The findings underscore several critical factors influencing farmers’ willingness to adopt green production technologies, including the presence of quality inspections, evaluations of restrictions on prohibited pesticide use, sales performance of green products, availability of government subsidies, and traceability of agricultural products. To foster greater adoption of green production technologies and propel the transformation of China’s agriculture, it is recommended to advocate and guide green agricultural practices, enhance green agricultural subsidy policies, and strengthen agricultural product market management systems. These measures are essential for ensuring sustainable agricultural development in China.

Application of green technology for Biofuel production

Application of green technology for Biofuel production

Three-Dimensional Modeling of Anion Exchange Membrane Electrolysis: A Two-Phase Flow Approach

Anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) are attracting growing interest as a green hydrogen production technology. Unlike proton exchange membrane (PEM) systems, AEMWEs operate in an alkaline environment, allowing one to use less expensive, non-noble materials as catalysts for the reactions and non-fluorinated anion exchange polymer membranes. However, the performance and stability of AEMWEs strongly depend on the alkaline electrolyte concentration. In this work, a three-dimensional multi-physics model considering two-phase flow effects is applied to understand the impact of KOH electrolyte concentration and its flow rate on AEMWE performance, as well as on the current and gas volume fraction distributions. The numerical results were compared to experimental data published in the literature. For current densities above 1 A/cm2, a strongly non-uniform H2 and O2 gas volume distribution could be evidenced by the 3D simulations. Increasing the KOH electrolyte flow rate from 10 to 100 mL/min noticeably improves cell performance for current densities above 1 A/cm2. These results show the importance of accounting for the three-dimensional geometry of an AEMWE and two-phase flow effects to accurately describe its operation and performance.

Impact of improved variety green gram (MH 421) and production technologies in through Cluster frontline demonstrations

Impact of improved variety green gram (MH 421) and production technologies in through Cluster frontline demonstrations

Boosting agricultural green development: Does socialized service matter?

Agricultural socialized service is gradually emerging as a new stimulus for enhancing the agricultural production environment. However, their precise impact on improving the agricultural ecological environment and promoting the green development of agriculture remains incompletely understood. Therefore, leveraging panel data spanning from 2003 to 2020 across 31 provinces in China, this study utilizes the bidirectional fixed effect model, moderating effect model, and spatial Durbin model to systematically assess the influence of agricultural socialized services on agricultural green development and its spatial ramifications. The findings show that (I) agricultural socialized services significantly contribute to promoting agricultural green development, particularly in regions with lower aging demographics. (II) The application of the spatial Durbin model reveals that this promotional effect does not exhibit significant spatial spillover effect. (III) The role of agricultural socialized services in fostering agricultural green development can be significantly enhanced by advancements in land transfer, agricultural technological innovations, and the improvement of rural human capital. In conclusion, the study provides a set of policy recommendations that include government financial support, facilitating land transfer, improving rural education and technical training, and promoting green production technologies to effectively promote agricultural green development.

Nd–IrO2: High-performance electrocatalyst for enhanced overall water splitting in acidic media

Water electrolysis is one of the most promising green hydrogen production technologies. However, using precious metal materials as electrodes for these electrolyzers incurs high costs. To address these challenges and simultaneously retain the catalytic activity of precious metals, we synthesize a low-iridium catalyst, Nd–IrO2. At 10 and -10 mA/cm2, this catalyst exhibits 233 and 36 mV overpotentials. Nd–IrO2 maintains stability over prolonged operation in acidic environments, as evidenced by its consistent overpotential. Advanced calculations using density functional theory (DFT) have demonstrated that incorporating Nd and an ample amount of oxygen vacancies can modulate the d-band center of Ir and reduce the adsorption energy of electrochemical reaction intermediates. In summary, we present the synthesis of a low-iridium catalyst, which provides valuable insights for the design and development of catalysts with improved electrocatalytic performance.

Photodeposition-Based Synthesis of TiO2@IrOx Core-Shell Catalyst for Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis with Low Iridium Loading.

The widespread application of green hydrogen production technologies requires cost reduction of crucial elements. To achieve this, a viable pathway to reduce the iridium loading in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is explored. Herein, a scalable synthesis method based on a photodeposition process for a TiO2@IrOx core-shell catalyst with a reduced iridium content as low as 40wt.% is presented. Using this synthesis method, titania support particles homogeneously coated with a thin iridium oxide shell of only 2.1±0.4nm are obtained. The catalyst exhibits not only high ex situ activity, but also decent stability compared to commercially available catalysts. Furthermore, the unique core-shell structure provides a threefold increased electrical powder conductivity compared to structures without the shell. In addition, the low iridium content facilitates the fabrication of sufficiently thick catalyst layers at decreased iridium loadings mitigating the impact of crack formation in the catalyst layer during PEMWE operation. It is demonstrated that the novel TiO2@IrOx core-shell catalyst clearly outperforms the commercial reference in single-cell tests with an iridium loading below 0.3mgIrcm-2 exhibiting a superior iridium-specific power density of 17.9kW gIr -1 compared to 10.4kW gIr -1 for the commercial reference.

Effect of digital multimedia on the adoption of agricultural green production technology among farmers in Liaoning Province, China

Agricultural green production technology (AGPT) is essential for the sustainable development of agriculture, yet adoption rates among farmers are often low due to limited access to education and information. Based on the extended technology acceptance model, this study takes Liaoning, a major agricultural province in China, as a representative region to explore how digital multimedia influences the adoption of AGPT by farmers. The findings show that the perceived ease of use of these technologies significantly enhances farmers' intentions to adopt, while perceived risks detract from these intentions. Although digital multimedia effectively promotes AGPT by improving its perceived ease of use and usefulness, its role in mitigating perceived risks is minimal. Based on these results, we recommend that the government improve the quality of information on digital platforms by involving experts in the field and offer specific digital marketing training to potential users to increase the adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies.

Analysis of changes in water quality and treatment effectiveness of seven major river basins in China from 2001 to 2020

The seven major river basins (the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the Pearl River, the Songhua River, the Huai River, the Hai River and the Liao River) are the most important surface water resources in China, but there is a lack of quantitative analyses of water quality change trends, horizontal comparisons of governance effects, and systematic review of effective policies since the 21st century. Based on the water resources bulletin and environmental status bulletin issued by government departments, the changes in water quality, pollutant indicators and treatment effectiveness of seven major basins from 2001 to 2020 have been scientifically analyzed using mathematical and statistical methods. (1) Over the period 2001 to 2020, the overall water quality in the seven major river basins exhibited a gradual improvement. Different basins demonstrated varied growth values for Grade I-III water, reduction values for Grade IV-V, and inferior Grade V water. (2) Between 2001 and 2020, changes in sewage discharge volume and types led to adjustments in the main pollutant indicators of the seven basins. (3) The ranking of the pollution degree in the seven major basins exhibited dynamic changes but also remained relatively stable during specific periods or years. (4) Assessing the average annual growth rate of Grade I-III water and the average annual reduction rate of Grade IV-V and inferior Grade V water, the Huai River basin demonstrated the most outstanding governance effectiveness, while the Liao River basin, the Yellow River basin, and the Songhua River basin also achieved notable treatment results. (5) The improvement in water quality across the seven major river basins can be attributed to scientific planning, enhanced policies and regulations, surge in investment in water conservancy infrastructure, heightened environmental protection awareness, application of green production technology. To sum up, the research findings not only provide a scientific foundation for the governance and protection of the seven major basins but also offer a valuable reference for other developing countries to strike a balance between economic development and environmental protection.

Integration of physical information and reaction mechanism data for surrogate prediction model and multi-objective optimization of glycolic acid production

With the continuous development of the chemical industry, the concept of advocating green development has become increasingly popular. Glycolic acid (GA), serving as the monomer for biodegradable plastic polyglycolic acid, plays a crucial role in combating plastic pollution and fostering an eco-friendly society. The selective oxidation of ethylene glycol (EG) to produce GA represents a novel green production technology. Controlling reaction parameters to achieve multi-objective optimization of product distribution and direct CO2 emissions is crucial for scaling up the process. With the advent of the big data era, the integration of the chemical industry with artificial intelligence to achieve engineering scale-up is an important trend. This study proposes a neural network model for production prediction and optimization. The model is trained using experimental data, reaction mechanism data, and physical information, enabling rapid prediction of GA production. After validating with 40% of experimental data and 16% of reaction mechanism data, the model's prediction error was within ±5%, and the linear correlation coefficient R2 between the predicted values and actual values was 0.998. Furthermore, this study integrated a multi-objective optimization algorithm based on the model, enabling surrogate optimization of reaction parameters during production. After optimization, the direct CO2 emissions were reduced by over 99% and overall greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 4.6%. The research paradigm proposed in this research can offer guidance and technical support for the optimized operation of EG selective oxidation to GA.