Inexhaustible Energy Source Research Articles

Sustainable nitrogen photofixation: Considerations on the state of the art of non critical carbon materials

AbstractThe achievement of a carbon‐neutral energy economy is nowadays mandatory to face global warming and the current energy crisis. To mitigate the present and future environmental issues, replacing fossil feedstocks with renewable sources is of primary importance, aiming to meet future generations' demands for energy and commodities. In light of this, the revamp of the ammonia synthesis, which today consumes almost 2% of the energy globally produced, gained increasing interest. The ammonia generation by reacting air and water and using sunlight as an inexhaustible source of energy is the closest approach to the ideal situation for zero‐carbon energy and chemical production. To promote solar‐to‐ammonia production, the photocatalyst plays a crucial role. However, for large‐scale implementation and long‐term utilization, the selection of noncritical raw materials in catalyst preparation is central aiming at resource security. In this context, herein are reviewed different strategies developed to improve the photocatalytic performances of carbon‐based materials. The introduction of vacancies and surface doping are discussed as valuable approaches to enhance the photocatalytic activity in the nitrogen fixation reactions, as well as the construction of heterojunctions to finely tune the electronic properties of carbon‐based materials.

Synergistic Effect of Rutile and Brookite TiO2 for Photocatalytic Formic Acid Dehydrogenation.

Solar energy is an ideal clean and inexhaustible energy source. Solar-driven formic acid (FA) dehydrogenation is one of the promising strategies to address safety and cost issues related to the storage, transport, and distribution of hydrogen energy. For FA dehydrogenation, the O-H and C-H cleavages are the key steps, and developing a photocatalyst with the ability to break these two bonds is critical. In this work, both density functional theory (DFT) calculation and experimental results confirmed the positive synergistic effect between brookite and rutile TiO2 for O-H and C-H cleavage in HCOOH. Further, brookite TiO2 is beneficial to the generation of the •OH radical and significantly promotes C-H cleavage in formate. Under optimized conditions, the H2 production efficiency of FA dehydrogenation can reach up to 30.4 μmol·mg-1·h-1, which is the highest value compared with similar reported TiO2-based systems and over 1.7 times the reported highest value of Au0.75Pd0.25/TiO2 photocatalysts. More importantly, after more than 42 days (>500 h) of irradiation, the system still demonstrated high H2 production activity, indicating the potential for practical application. This work provides a valuable strategy to improve both the efficiency and stability of photocatalytic FA dehydrogenation under mild conditions.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Investigation of the Spacing of the Aerodynamic Characteristics for Multiple Wingsails on Ships

Wind energy, as an inexhaustible energy source, has become a focal point in the development of new energy for ships. Sail-assisted technology, which leverages wind power, has been successfully applied to ship propulsion. The propulsion performance of sail-assisted ships is affected by the interference characteristics among multiple wingsails. To investigate interference characteristics, an arrangement scheme involving two-element wingsails and considering the relative wind direction angle was established. To obtain the inter-stage interference characteristics of wingsails, the Reynolds average N-S equation was used in the numerical simulation conducted under steady operating conditions. The results indicate that, at the relative wind angles of 30°, 90°, and 120°, the minimum horizontal spacing in a single row arrangement scheme is 1.5c. However, at relative wind angles of 90° and 120°, inter-stage interference may induce stall conditions in the wingsails. In a double-row arrangement scheme, the wake of the upstream wingsail interferes with the flow of the downstream sail at relative wind angles of 90°. An optimal propulsion performance is achieved with a horizontal spacing of 4c and a longitudinal spacing of 10c. Moreover, the interference performance of the two-element wingsails can be enhanced through a horizontal offset arrangement. This study provides a reference for the arrangement of wingsails on ships.

Development and assessment of an integrated wind energy system for green steelmaking based on electric arc furnace route

Optimizing energy structure is important for coping with the increasing environmental problems in iron and steel industry. Wind energy is one of typical zero-carbon, inexhaustible, and accessible energy source for alleviating energy dilemma. In this paper, the electric arc furnace steelmaking processes integrated with wind energy system (EAF-WES) is developed. The input-output data of 1214 and 1536 heats with 30 % and 50 % hot metal ratio are traced and collected. Life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of EAF route integrated with traditional energy system (EAF-TES) and EAF-WES are further researched and compared from perspectives of life cycle carbon footprint (LCCF), production cost, wind energy price (WEP), carbon efficiency, carbon reduction benefit (CRB), and carbon tax. The results indicate that EAF-WES enjoys lower LCCF but higher production cost and carbon efficiency than EAF-TES. Considering the price fluctuations, the optimal EAF steelmaking pattern with lowest production cost under different extent of WEP and carbon tax is suggested. When the electricity price is 0.043 and 0.046 $/kWh, the CRB is balanced. It is concluded that EAF-WES is a low-carbon, high-productive, environmentally friendly, and economical route. This research is expected to supply a technical idea for energy conservation and emission reduction in future steel production.

Nuclear fusion as unlimited power source for ships

Every now and then, every marine engineer dreams of a compact, lightweight and inexhaustible energy source to power large ships across the seven seas. Nuclear fusion of deuterium and tritium promises to be a safe, compact, carbon-free, and inexhaustible energy source. Even though it will take decades before conventional power plants may be replaced with nuclear fusion, the concept of nuclear fusion for marine propulsion has already been put on the table by commercial parties. This research investigates the potential of nuclear fusion onboard ships. The design investigates putting the smallest imaginable magnetic confinement reactor, ARC, on a ship. The only commercial ship requiring significant amounts of power is the Queen Mary 2. The large power output of ARC (200 MWe) is one of the major issues of putting a fusion reactor on a ship. Other issues may include intact stability, structural design and influences of vibrations on the fusion reactor. All in all, we found that a fusion reactor onboard a ship is unlikely to be feasible in the near future.

SUN TRACING SOLAR PANEL IN TWO AXIS USING ARDUINO AND SERVO MOTORS

In the contemporary context, the variability in climatic changes has reached critical levels. These changes stem from both natural phenomena and human-induced activities, notably global warming and the emission of greenhouse gases, which are significantly impacting climatic conditions worldwide. Over the past decade, there has been a notable surge in the demand for reliable and abundant electrical energy sourced from renewable energy alternatives. This shift towards renewable energy is pivotal in addressing energy crises faced by many countries. Governments have initiated measures to reduce reliance on conventional energy sources while actively promoting the adoption of renewable energy sources such as hydro and solar power. Solar power, in particular, stands out as a prominent renewable energy source. With the sun being an abundant and inexhaustible source of energy, solar power holds immense potential. The solar energy received by the Earth is estimated to be approximately 1.8*10^11 MW. To harness this energy efficiently, maximizing the absorption of solar power by photovoltaic systems is imperative. Research indicates that employing a dual-axis tracking system, as opposed to a fixed system, can substantially increase power output by 40% to 60%. Solar energy systems have witnessed significant advancements over the past few decades and are now widely utilized for various household and industrial applications. These systems typically rely on solar collectors designed to capture the sun's energy and convert it into either electrical power or thermal energy. The efficacy of such systems hinges on the ability to capture solar energy effectively. Consequently, developing tracking schemes capable of aligning with the sun's trajectory throughout the day, year-round, has garnered considerable attention in research and development initiatives. This emphasis on enhancing solar energy capture underscores the importance of innovation and technological advancements in the renewable energy sector. By harnessing the vast potential of solar power and optimizing its utilization through advanced tracking systems, societies can mitigate reliance on fossil fuels, combat climate change, and foster sustainable development pathways.

Bismuth-Based Perovskite Derivates with Thermal Voltage Exceeding 40 mV/K.

Heat is an inexhaustible source of energy, and it can be exploited by thermoelectronics to produce electrical power or electrical responses. The search for a low-cost thermoelectric material that could achieve high efficiencies and can also be straightforwardly scalable has turned significant attention to the halide perovskite family. Here, we report the thermal voltage response of bismuth-based perovskite derivates and suggest a path to increase the electrical conductivity by applying chalcogenide doping. The films were produced by drop-casting or spin coating, and sulfur was introduced in the precursor solution using bismuth triethylxanthate. The physical-chemical analysis confirms the substitution. The sulfur introduction caused resistivity reduction by 2 orders of magnitude, and the thermal voltage exceeded 40 mV K-1 near 300 K in doped and undoped bismuth-based perovskite derivates. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering were employed to confirm the structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were employed to study the composition and morphology of the produced thin films. UV-visible absorbance, photoluminescence, inverse photoemission, and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopies have been used to investigate the energy band gap.

Preparation and application research of transition metal phosphides

Due to the serious environmental pollution in the world, the shortcut to harmonious development is to improve traditional disposable energy and identify new energy sources that can be utilized. The current problem that human society must solve is to discover and use efficient and inexhaustible new energy sources, among which electrolytic water technology is an effective way to develop clean energy. In recent years, researchers have focused on producing hydrogen by electrolyzed water, but the intermediate hydrogen evolution reaction and the oxygen evolution reaction are relatively slow kinetic processes, and they cannot give the factory a large range of electrolytic water hydrogen production work and push down the commercialization process, so improving the rate of electrolytic water process must be an efficient catalyst. Transition metal phosphide is one of the non-precious metal catalysts in the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction. Transition metal phosphide can promote rapid change of chemical reaction rate, and it has the characteristics of being cheap and easy to operate so it has a great prospect in the electrolysis of water. In this experiment, the oxygen evolution performance was optimized based on the crystal surface regulation of cobalt-doped transition metal nickel phosphide. The optimal reduction time and a small overpotential (60 mV) were obtained by using sodium borohydride to reduce the sample.

The Use of Solar Energy for Heating Premises in the Southern Regions of the Russian Federation in the Spring-Autumn Period

The task of restoring the housing stock in destroyed cities and towns in the south of Russia is urgent. It will be paramount after the restoration of peaceful life in the DPR, LPR, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions of the Russian Federation. It is known that in the Krasnodar region, in the northern Caucasus, and in other regions of southern Russia there is a shortage of electricity. Restoring energy-intensive industries in Donbass will require large electricity capacities. At the same time, the climate of southern Russia allows the use of the Sun in housing construction as an inexhaustible source of renewable energy. At the same time, the huge scale of restoration of the housing stock requires the design and construction of inexpensive energy-efficient housing, which must comply with the requirements of Federal Law No. 261 of June 11, 2021 “On energy saving and increasing energy efficiency and on introducing amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation”.

A literature review: Wind energy within the scope of MCDM methods

Renewable energy sources (RES) are vital for environmental sustainability. With the depletion and damage of fossil fuels to nature, energy production from clean and inexhaustible RES has become widespread. Wind energy, one of the RES, is a clean energy source that does not emit any harmful waste to the environment. Wind energy is a low-cost energy source that is mostly used for electricity generation. Criteria such as wind speed, turbine structure and the characteristics of the areas where the wind turbines will be located are effective on the amount of energy to be produced. In this study, a comprehensive review of the studies using MCDM methods related to wind energy is made. In the manner of the statistical data obtained from the 97 studies examined, it has been observed that the wind energy investments and the scientific publications made in these countries do not progress linearly with each other. The fact that countries have different wind energy potentials and the difference in the countries' interest in RES is thought to be effective in this regard. While there are articles in the literature in which studies on RES are discussed together with MCDM methods, there is no comprehensive review study in which wind energy and MCDM methods are discussed together. According to our best knowledge, this is the first study to comprehensively evaluate wind energy studies in terms of MCDM methods. With this study, a framework has been presented for subsequent studies on the application of MCDM methods in wind energy.

Revolutionizing Wastewater Treatment: Harnessing Metal–Organic Frameworks for Exceptional Photocatalytic Degradation of Azo-Type Dyes

Due to the high stability of azo-type dyes, conventional treatment processes such as adsorption, flocculation, and activated sludge are not efficient for decolorizing wastewater effluents. An alternative to traditional wastewater treatment is photocatalysis, which has gained significant interest because research has shown it to be a viable and cost-effective process that uses sunlight as an inexhaustible energy source. In heterogeneous photocatalysis, a photocatalyst is required, such as TiO2, ZnO, composite materials, and, more recently, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs, also known as “coordination polymers”, exhibit photocatalytic properties and have been proven to be promising materials in the photocatalytic degradation of dyes. This study presents recent advances in using MOFs as photocatalysts to degrade recalcitrant contaminants like azo-type dyes. Recent advancements in developing photocatalysts based on MOFs are focused on two strategies. Firstly, the development of new MOFs composed of complex ligands or a mixed ligand system, and secondly, the synthesis of composite materials based on MOFs and metal oxides, metals, sulfides, nitrides, etc. Both strategies have significantly contributed to the search for new semiconductors to degrade some recalcitrate contaminants in wastewater.

Energy, exergy, environment and techno-economic analysis of parabolic trough collector: A comprehensive review

Inexhaustible energy sources are the focus of the energy industry for meeting the increased need for energy and reducing carbon emissions. Among various alternatives, harnessing solar energy has become a promising choice around the world. Parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) are an effective way to transform radiant energy into thermal energy, as well as electricity. However, these collectors can be improved by refining their design and tweaking the parameters related to thermal behavior. This may be done either by enhancing the surface area or improving the heat transfer coefficient of the heat carrying medium. These kinds of improvements could be achieved by making the use of nanofluids and by using inserts or fins within the collector tube. The current study provides an extensive review of PTCs from the points of view of their design, along with their thermal characteristics. Different types of nanofluids as the working liquid are investigated and discussed to achieve better PTC performance. Inserts within the collector tube and various design approaches, including fins, twisted tubes, U-shaped tubes, coiled wire inserts, and porous twisted tape inserts, are reviewed and discussed in detail. Finally, based on this review, challenges of PTC applications are described and future research recommendations are proposed.

Matrices for radioactive waste immobilization: a review

Nuclear energy is considered a clean, reliable, and an inexhaustible energy source for power generation. Nuclear power is harnessed from nuclear fission reactions in a dedicated power plant. The by-products (produced in the nuclear power plant) are radioactive and pose a threat to the environment. The safe disposal of nuclear waste is vital to ensure the sustainable use of the nuclear energy. The immobilization of radioactive waste before final disposal is essential for the interim storage and transportation. This review summarizes the recent work on glass, ceramics, and glass–ceramics matrices to immobilize high-level waste. The synthesis methods, leaching behavior, and radiation resistance of matrices are discussed briefly.

Dual-axis Solar Energy Tracking and Monitoring System with Arduino as a Microcontroller

As an inexhaustible and non-polluting energy source of the future, solar energy is improving to meet the world's ever-increasing energy demands. In this project, the solar panel is made movable to absorb energy in different directions based on the direction of the sun to maximize the amount of energy generated by solar photovoltaic system. Four Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs), a voltage sensor and a set of humidity and temperature sensor are acting as inputs. Meanwhile, two servo motor outputs are placed in the horizontal and vertical axes to maximize power absorption by orienting the PV panel towards the varying sun directions. The Arduino Mega2560 was used as the microcontroller that controls the inputs to make sure the outputs are operating as required. Apart from the servo motors, another important feature of the project includes the monitoring unit for the system which comprises of the LCD display and Microsoft Excel Data Streamer.

Balancing and Alignment Analysis of Vertical Wind Turbine Helix Type and Savonius Type

Electrical energy is one of the basic needs that is very important in life, in addition to the physiological development of living things, electricity is also an input for various efforts or activities in order to produce something for survival. Therefore, renewable energy that is more environmentally friendly and an inexhaustible source of energy is needed, namely wind energy. This power generator is called a wind turbine with a vertical shaft. This turbine converts wind energy into mechanical and electrical. In order to obtain a turbine design with high efficiency. It is also necessary to balance and align each component frame attached to the turbine rotor to produce a perfect/ideal rotation, so as to minimize the occurrence of vibrations caused by the imbalance. the results of calculations with the analytical method on Darrius Helix type obtained value = 0.125 Newton, and = 0.175 Newton, and the value of the angle = 63.43490. Alignment testing is carried out to determine the value of the misalignment between one blade with another blade. The results of the balancing test with the blade ballast obtained additional value, the blade D was 70 grams and the results from the plate addition test were obtained according to the calculation of the analytical method but also less than the maximum requiring additional load on the blade body to get blade A = 12 grams, blade B = 0, blade C = 40 grams, and a spoon D = 90 grams. For the results and discussion of the balancing and alignment method on the savonius type using the static balancing and alignment method using a dial indicator, the values obtained are in the fields A and B, the addition of mass is 59,007 grams and 59.007 grams with angles A and B 11.88 ° , and the value The misalignment deviation in the A, B and center planes is A: 4mm, B: 0.04mm, middle: 0.52mm, while the shaft alignment value is 0 because the value of the alignment of the shafts is the same or parallel.

Improvement Efficiency of Solar Cells Using III-V Dual Junction: InGap/GaAs

Renewable energy is a very minor percentage of energy consumed in the world. Fossil fuels still dominate despite their drawbacks (degradation of the environment). Renewable energy is not yet cost competitive with fossil fuels. The conversion of energy from renewable sources, especially for inexhaustible and clean energy sources (solar cells), must be efficient to be viable for large scale use. Single junction cells (SJC) have a theoretical efficiency limit of 33.7%, called Shockley-Queisser limit (SQ). Because the cost of electricity produced from solar cells depends on their efficiency, improving their conversion efficiency is a key way to make them cost-competitive. The two most important efficiency losses in SJC are the inability to convert photons with energies below the band gap energy (Eg) into electricity and the thermalization of photon energies exceeding Eg. Dual Junction Solar Cells (DJSC) was proposed to avoid the efficiency losses and to overcome the SQ limit. Our simulation model, presented in a previous work, was used to calculate solar cells efficiency and to plot the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics and the power-voltage (P-V) characteristics curves. Our simulation results show that high conversion efficiencies can be achieved by DJSC, more than 43.5%.

Neutronic and fuel cycle performance analysis of fluoride and chloride fuels in Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR)

The signification of fast breeder reactors as an inexhaustible source of energy has been elucidated by many researchers. Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) show great promise in fuel cycle performance. Fuel selection for MSRs is a key parameter due to its effect on many fundamental parameters of neutronic, safety, and fuel cycle through the neutron spectrum changes. choosing the fuel for MSRs has many degrees of freedom due to the variety of salts, carrier salts, and fissile and fertile isotope types. The foremost objective of this paper is a comparison of performance of fluoride and chloride fuels with the Th-U cycle for Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR) concept. For this purpose, six fuels with start-up fissile isotopes of 233U, TRansUranium (TRU), and TRU/enrU are modeled by Monte Carlo Serpent 2 code. According to the MSFR design, the fuel compositions of three fluoride fuels are chosen from different conceptual designs. Chloride fuels, however, are selected based on the limit of the maximum melting point of salts (565 °C), criticality at the beginning of the cycle (BOC), and inherent safety criteria (temperature reactivity coefficients). The most important evaluated parameters include the energy spectrum, absorption and fission reaction rate, kinetic parameters, temperature reactivity coefficients, power density distribution, breeding ratio, and inventory changes of important isotopes during the burnup cycle. The results reveal neutron spectrum is less fast with fluoride salt; in contrast neutron leakage of chloride fuels are more than fluoride fuels due to their harder spectrum and transparency. Furthermore, the high leakage reduces the neutron budget required for breeding 232Th to 233U and the low density of chloride fuels causes a lower loading of fissile and fertile isotopes in the reactor. Therefore, using chloride fuels leads to larger core volume and need a proper reflector to reduce neutron leakage; Anyway, the U-Pu cycle shows better indications of the breeding for chloride fuels than the Th-U cycle. By the way corrosion and radioactivity of generated elements in chloride fuel circuit are serious problems.

Chitosan/multilayered MXene Nanocomposites Loaded in 3D Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Networks for Seawater Desalination with Highly Efficient Photothermal Conversion

AbstractSunlight, as one of the inexhaustible green energy sources, is attracting rising attention, particularly with the rapid depletion of traditional fossil fuels nowadays. Chitosan (CHT) is an abundant natural product that can be converted into N‐doped porous carbon which has a strong light absorption ability. Herein, chitosan is employed with the accordion‐like multilayered mMXene (mMXene) to fabricate the 3D thermally insulated and low‐cost composites using melamine foam (MF) as a template. The obtained MF/CHT/mMXene (MCM) composites with different mass ratios of mMXene/chitosan are then subject to a simple annealing treatment at 500 °C for 2 h to afford 3D and self‐floating carbonized carbonized MF/CHT/mMXene (CMCM) composites. The CMCM‐1 obtained with mass ratio of CHT/mMXene at 1:1 displays low thermal conductivity, high hydrophilicity, and good light absorbance. When it is utilized as the evaporator of pure water and seawater, its evaporation rates can reach at 1.554 and 1.428 kg m−2 h−1 under 1 kW m−2 irradiation and the photothermal conversion efficiency can reach at 89.8%. In addition, the CMCM‐1 composite also displays excellent desalination ability, self‐desalination ability, good cycle stability, and reliable safety performance. Combining these advantages, CMCM‐1 composite may have potential practical applications for seawater evaporation and wastewater treatment, etc.

Continuous Photothermal and Radiative Cooling Energy Harvesting by VO2 Smart Coatings with Switchable Broadband Infrared Emission

Extensive use of renewable and clean energy is one of the promising ways to solve energy/environmental problems and promote the sustainable development of our society. As inexhaustible energy sources, the photothermal (PT) and radiative cooling (RC) energy from the sun and outer space have recently attracted tremendous interest. However, these two kinds of energy utilization have distinctly opposite spectral properties, especially in the infrared range, making it extremely difficult to integrate these two energy harvesting modes within a fixed device for continuous energy collection. Thus, in the current study, we have proposed a spectrally self-adaptive broadband absorber/emitter (SSBA/E) based on vanadium dioxide (VO2), a typical phase transition material, to achieve continuous energy harvesting via collecting solar thermal energy in PT mode during the day and obtaining cool energy in wide-band RC mode at night. Experimental results show that owing to the phase transition property of the VO2 layer, these two energy collection modes can be adaptively switched. Specifically, the VO2-based device shows a broadband infrared emissivity modulation from 0.21 to 0.75 and low critical temperatures (58.4 and 49.2 °C) during the phase transition, leading to continuous energy harvesting with high efficiency. Due to the broadband infrared emission, the RC maximum power of the SSBA/E device was estimated to be 58 W m-2. The proposed VO2 smart coatings are also applicable for many other applications such as thermal management of spacecraft, infrared camouflage, or adaptive optical devices.

Anomaly-based fault detection in wind turbine main bearings

Abstract. Renewable energy is a clean and inexhaustible source of energy, so every year interest in the study and the search for improvements in production increases. Wind energy is one of the most used sources of energy, and therefore the need for predictive maintenance management to guarantee the reliability and operability of each of the wind turbines has become a great study opportunity. In this work, a fault detection system is developed by applying an anomaly detector based on principal component analysis (PCA), in order to state early warnings of possible faults in the main bearing. For the development of the model, SCADA data from a wind park in operation are utilized. The results obtained allow detection of failures even months before the fatal breakdown occurs. This model requires (to be constructed) only the use of healthy SCADA data, without the need to obtain the fault history or install additional equipment or sensors that require greater investment. In conclusion, this proposed strategy provides a tool for the planning and execution of predictive maintenance within wind parks.