Large Energy Requirements Research Articles

Analyzing warp drive spacetimes with Warp Factory

The field of warp research has been dominated by analytical methods to investigate potential solutions. However, these approaches often favor simple metric forms that facilitate analysis but ultimately limit the range of exploration of novel solutions. So far the proposed solutions have been unphysical, requiring energy condition violations and large energy requirements. To overcome the analytical limitations in warp research, we introduce Warp Factory: a numerical toolkit designed for modeling warp drive spacetimes. By leveraging numerical analysis, Warp Factory enables the examination of general warp drive geometries by evaluating the Einstein field equations and computing energy conditions. Furthermore, this comprehensive toolkit provides the determination of metric scalars and insightful visualizations in both 2D and 3D, offering a deeper understanding of metrics and their corresponding stress–energy tensors. The paper delves into the methodology employed by Warp Factory in evaluating the physicality of warp drive spacetimes and highlights its application in assessing commonly modeled warp drive metrics. By leveraging the capabilities of Warp Factory, we aim to further warp drive research and hopefully bring us closer to realizing physically achievable warp drives.

Efficient Solar-Driven Interfacial Water Evaporator using Hydrogel Modified Carbon-Based Biomass with Abundant Microchannels.

The conventional sea water desalination technologies are not yet adopted worldwide, especially in the third world countries due to their high capital cost as well as large energy requirement. To solve this issue in a sustainable way an interfacial solar water evaporation device is designed and proposed in this article using the branches of Prunus serrulata (PB). The PB has abundant microchannels and shows excellent photothermal conversion capability after carbonization. Moreover, the easy access to raw materials and the facile fabrication process makes the solar water evaporating device very cost effective for seawater desalination application. Experiments show that in the presence of the fabricated evaporator the evaporation rate of water can reach 3.5kgm-2h-1 under 1 sun, which is superior to many similar experimental devices. In addition, its advantages, such as effective sewage purification capability, low cost, and environmental friendliness, make this evaporator highly competitive in the extensive promotion of this technology and can be considered as a new sustainable solution for seawater desalination with great application potential and prospects.

Environmental Sustainability and AI in Radiology: A Double-Edged Sword.

According to the World Health Organization, climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. The global health care system, including medical imaging, must manage the health effects of climate change while at the same time addressing the large amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated in the delivery of care. Data centers and computational efforts are increasingly large contributors to GHG emissions in radiology. This is due to the explosive increase in big data and artificial intelligence (AI) applications that have resulted in large energy requirements for developing and deploying AI models. However, AI also has the potential to improve environmental sustainability in medical imaging. For example, use of AI can shorten MRI scan times with accelerated acquisition times, improve the scheduling efficiency of scanners, and optimize the use of decision-support tools to reduce low-value imaging. The purpose of this Radiology in Focus article is to discuss this duality at the intersection of environmental sustainability and AI in radiology. Further discussed are strategies and opportunities to decrease AI-related emissions and to leverage AI to improve sustainability in radiology, with a focus on health equity. Co-benefits of these strategies are explored, including lower cost and improved patient outcomes. Finally, knowledge gaps and areas for future research are highlighted.

Folding solar panels in space: Miura-ori and its kinematic behavior

Solar panels are made by absorbing Sunlight , which will Solar radiation energy through Photovoltaic effects or Photochemical effects directly or indirectly into Electrical energy to a device that is the central part of a solar power system and is often used in spacecraft. Spacecraft allow for large energy requirements, and solar panels require a larger area to meet the spacecraft's needs. Origami is an ingenious solution to this problem by reducing the size of solar panels needed for launch by specific folding methods, such as Miura-ori, which is a rigid origami paper in which each parallelogram remains unbent and flat during the smooth unfolding of the paper. Therefore, this paper investigates the geometric configuration and kinematic behaviour of Miura-ori based on Miura-ori units with rigid folding properties.

Female pond bats hunt in other areas than males and consume lighter prey when pregnant.

Animals with large energy requirements are forced to optimize their hunting strategy, which may result in differentiation of the diet between sexes and across seasons. Here, we examined spatiotemporal variation in the diet of both sexes of the Pond Bat Myotis dasycneme, a species known to have spatial segregation of sexes when the young are born and lactating. Fecal pellets were collected from live animals for a period of 15 years at various locations in the Netherlands. A total of 535 pellets were successfully analyzed by microscopy and an additional 160 pellets by DNA metabarcoding. Morphological and molecular analyses showed that the diet of pregnant and lactating pond bats differed significantly from the diet of females with no reproductive investment. Further analyses of the data showed that pregnant female pond bats are highly dependent on small prey and pupae, mainly nonbiting midges and mosquitoes (Diptera: Chironomidae and Culicidae). These insects can be found in large quantities in peatlands intersected with shallow waterways, the habitat type in which female pond bats were observed more often than males. Our results suggest that during pregnancy the spatial segregation of sexes coincides with sex-specific diets, which might reflect habitat selection based on energy requirements, in addition to lowered intraspecific competition.

Towards Reliable Design and Operation of Electric Road Systems for Heavy-Duty Vehicles Under Realistic Traffic Scenarios

Decarbonizing heavy-duty vehicles through electrification is a demanding task due to their large energy and power requirements. One promising solution to address this problem are electric road systems (ERS), which provide dynamic charging and traction power for electric vehicles. While their technological feasibility has been proven in numerous pilot projects, its reliability under realistic traffic scenarios is yet to be thoroughly investigated. In this paper, we define the reliability criteria for ERS and investigate how they are influenced by various realistic traffic scenarios. Then, the relationship between the ERS reliability criteria and the key system parameters such as the DC link voltage, distance between substations and feeding arrangement is analyzed. We find that the continuous current limit is the most critical criterion under heavy traffic conditions. Furthermore, we look into a number of run-time techniques to cope with electrical stress on the system and propose a technique based on successive approximation of the total current demand. We compare and evaluate the effectiveness of the run-time techniques and show that our proposed technique is able to improve ERS utilization while ensuring reliable operation.

Biodiesel Production Directly from Rapeseeds

Rapeseeds are desirable as feedstock for manufacturing biodiesel due to their high production capacity and oil yield. The standard production of biodiesel from rapeseeds is a lengthy process including multiple time-consuming steps, and the method is not environmentally friendly because of the large energy requirements, the use of high volumes of organic solvents and water, and the need for a catalyst, which must be captured, purified, and recycled. In this study, we report a method to produce biodiesel in a single mechanical step directly from intact rapeseeds without adding a catalyst. The process is more environmentally friendly as there is less need for water than in current industrial processes, and it reduces pollutants from organic solvents, catalysts, and wastewater. Additionally, the remaining biomass shows adsorption characteristics for metals, potentially making it useful in water remediation.

Oxygen consumption rate to evaluate mitochondrial dysfunction and toxicity in cardiomyocytes.

The increase in the types and complexity of diseases has led to significant advances in diagnostic techniques and the availability of effective therapies. Recent studies have focused on the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Mitochondria are important organelles in cells that generate energy. Besides the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy currency of cells, mitochondria are also involved in thermogenesis, control of intracellular calcium ions (Ca2+), apoptosis, regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and inflammation. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in several diseases including cancer, diabetes, some genetic diseases, and neurogenerative and metabolic diseases. Furthermore, the cardiomyocytes of the heart are rich in mitochondria due to the large energy requirement for optimal cardiac function. One of the main causes of cardiac tissue injuries is believed to be mitochondrial dysfunction, which occurs via complicated pathways which have not yet been completely elucidated. There are various types of mitochondrial dysfunction including mitochondrial morphological change, unbalanced levels of substances to maintain mitochondria, mitochondrial damage by drugs, and mitochondrial deletion and synthesis errors. Most of mitochondrial dysfunctions are linked with symptoms and diseases, thus we focus on parts of mitochondrial dysfunction about fission and fusion in cardiomyocytes, and ways to understand the mechanism of cardiomyocyte damage by detecting oxygen consumption levels in the mitochondria.

Input node placement restricting the longest control chain in controllability of complex networks

The minimum number of inputs needed to control a network is frequently used to quantify its controllability. Control of linear dynamics through a minimum set of inputs, however, often has prohibitively large energy requirements and there is an inherent trade-off between minimizing the number of inputs and control energy. To better understand this trade-off, we study the problem of identifying a minimum set of input nodes such that controllabililty is ensured while restricting the length of the longest control chain. The longest control chain is the maximum distance from input nodes to any network node, and recent work found that reducing its length significantly reduces control energy. We map the longest control chain-constraint minimum input problem to finding a joint maximum matching and minimum dominating set. We show that this graph combinatorial problem is NP-complete, and we introduce and validate a heuristic approximation. Applying this algorithm to a collection of real and model networks, we investigate how network structure affects the minimum number of inputs, revealing, for example, that for many real networks reducing the longest control chain requires only few or no additional inputs, only the rearrangement of the input nodes.

Selective Extraction of Antioxidants by Formation of a Deep Eutectic Mixture through Mechanical Mixing

Extraction of active compounds from natural materials is commonly used to produce a diverse range of ingredients, nutrients, drugs, flavors, and fragrances. While solvent-based approaches are standard for these extraction procedures, large solvent volumes, greenhouse gas emission (due to atmospheric release of volatile organic compounds), and large energy requirements are significant issues. Here, we describe a novel process wherein a mechanical action is applied to a solid-state mixture comprising a quaternary ammonium salt and a biological material containing active molecules to form a deep eutectic mixture. It is first shown that eutectic mixtures can be formed for a wide range of naturally occurring compounds. Selective extraction of these compounds from natural products is then demonstrated using rosemary leaves with three different quaternary ammonium salts. The eutectic mixture formed is purified by liquid/liquid extraction using an oily phase to concentrate the active constituents in the deep eutectic phase. The resulting natural extracts are shown to exhibit high antioxidant activities, which were measured using the conjugated autoxidizable triene (CAT) and the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays.

Smart Room Lighting System for Energy Efficiency in Indoor Environment

The building sector absorbs 40% of global energy sources. Energy demand in the building sector is dominated by around 60 – 70% electricity, mainly used for air conditioning, water pumping machines, and lighting. On average, artificial lighting can consume 37% of the total electrical energy needs. Meanwhile, sunlight enters the room through the morning window from noon until the afternoon. Using unnecessary or excessive room lighting when there is a natural light source in the room consumes a relatively large total energy requirement of the building. There is a need for a smart lighting system specifically for indoors for efficient energy management and a lighting control system integrated with IoT, which utilizes the intensity of natural light in a room. In this paper, we proposed that the Smart Room Lighting System uses the fuzzy logic method based on ESP32 to control the lighting in the room to save electricity usage for a room lamp. The result of the tool's design, it can control the light starting from bright, dim, and lights go out. The results obtained by the Smart Room Lighting System can reduce power consumption by up to 93% and energy by up to 70%.

Meta-heuristic-based guidance model for node localization in wireless sensor networks

An important requirement in many applications in Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is the location of nodes within the network. Manual location provision options have become practically impossible, necessitating the use of self-localization approaches for the provision of location information. In one such approach, the mobile-assisted localization approach, a mobile anchor (MA) goes through the network and provides updated location information to the nodes. However, the implementation of solutions with highly MAs is limited in many real-time applications, with typical networks having irregular and unpredictable obstacles, vast distances between nodes, and large energy requirements. To make MAs more efficient in providing localization information, we proposed the Flow Direction Path Planning (FDPP) model, where the planning for movement is achieved using meta-heuristic physics-based algorithms following a real-time approach. The model shows better outcomes than traditional models, with improved localization accuracy, ratios, precision, and lower computational times.

Enhanced Oxygen Volumetric Mass Transfer in a Geometrically Constrained Vortex

Aeration is one of the most cost intensive steps in water and wastewater treatment due to the large energy requirement for the creation of large surfaces for sufficient gas exchange as well as for providing efficient liquid transport in order to exchange saturated liquid elements at the surface with unsaturated ones from the bulk. In this work we show that geometrically constrained vortices in a hyperbolic funnel are a promising aeration technique as they meet these criteria and allow oxygen transfer coefficients up to 50 h−1, a number significantly higher than that of comparable methods like air jets or impellers (<10 h−1).

Food Powder Flow in Extrusion: Role of Particle Size and Composition

Innovations in food extrusion technology are enabling its rapid expansion and applicability in diverse areas related to bioprocessing and value addition. This study relates raw material particulate rheology to the granular flow in a single screw food extruder. Raw materials based on corn (i.e., meal, flour, and starch), wheat (i.e., farina, flour, and starch), and sucrose (i.e., granulated, superfine, and powdered) were used as model particulate systems for the study. Various particulate-scale characteristics and flow parameters of these nine materials were determined using a powder rheometer, a promising new offline tool. Properties such as basic flow energy, specific energy, cohesion, stability index, flow function, and effective angle of internal friction were good indicators of flowability in an extruder. Corn meal exhibited lower energy requirements and a higher propensity for flow than corn flour (6.7 mJ/g versus 10.7 mJ/g, and “free-flowing” versus “cohesive,” according to Flow Function classifications), with wheat farina showing similar results when compared to wheat flour (5.8 mJ/g versus 7.9 mJ/g, and “highly free-flowing versus “cohesive,” according to Flow Function classifications), although both wheat systems showed comparatively lower energy requirements than their comparable corn systems. Sugar, being of a different base material and particle shape, behaved differently than these starch-based materials—flow energy decreased and propensity to flow increased (51.7 mJ/g versus 8.0 mJ/g, and “free-flowing” versus “highly free-flowing”). This large energy requirement for coarse sugar particles may be attributed more to particle shape than composition, as the sharp edges of sugar can interlock and increase restriction to movement through the sample. The starch-based results were validated in a particulate flow study involving the above model systems (corn meal, corn flour, wheat farina, and wheat flour) in a pilot-scale single screw extruder. Visualization data, obtained using a transparent plexiglass window during extrusion, confirmed that the flours exhibited higher flow energy requirements and a lower flow factor when compared to the coarser-particle size corn meal during extrusion, seen by the increased peak heights and barrel fill.

A bimodal burst energy distribution of a repeating fast radio burst source.

The event rate, energy distribution and time-domain behaviour of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) contain essential information regarding their physical nature and central engine, which are as yet unknown1,2. As the first precisely localized source, FRB 121102 (refs. 3-5) has been extensively observed and shows non-Poisson clustering of bursts over time and a power-law energy distribution6-8. However, the extent of the energy distribution towards the fainter end was not known. Here we report the detection of 1,652 independent bursts with a peak burst rate of 122 h-1, in 59.5 hours spanning 47 days. A peak in the isotropic equivalent energy distribution is found to be approximately4.8 × 1037 erg at 1.25 GHz, below which the detection of bursts is suppressed. The burst energy distribution is bimodal, and well characterized by a combination of a log-normal function and a generalized Cauchy function. The large number of bursts in hour-long spans allows sensitive periodicity searches between 1 ms and 1,000 s. The non-detection of any periodicity or quasi-periodicity poses challenges for models involving a single rotating compact object. The high burst rate also implies that FRBs must be generated with a high radiative efficiency, disfavouring emission mechanisms with large energy requirements or contrived triggering conditions.

Simultaneous production of 1,6-hexanediol, furfural, and high-purity lignin from white birch: Process integration and techno-economic evaluation

An integrated strategy of multiple catalytic conversions was developed to completely utilize three major fractions of biomass, thereby increasing the revenue from lignocellulosic biomass (white birch). Cellulose was converted into 1,6-hexanediol (1,6-HDO) with a yield of 21.8% via a series of catalytic conversions, hemicellulose was converted into furfural with a yield of 87.2% via dehydration, and lignin was purified into high-purity lignin with a yield of 71.7% via two-step purification. Heat integration was performed to mitigate the challenges associated with the large energy requirements of the process. Additionally, a techno-economic analysis was conducted to investigate the feasibility of the proposed process. The minimum selling price (MSP) of 1,6-HDO is estimated to be $3,922/ton, meaning that the economics of the proposed process are favorable compared to petroleum-derived 1,6-HDO production ($4,400/ton). The effect of economic parameters on the MSP of 1,6-HDO was also investigated via a wide array of sensitivity analyses.

Reversible Absorption of Volatile Organic Compounds by Switchable-Hydrophilicity Solvents: A Case Study of Toluene with N,N-Dimethylcyclohexylamine.

Absorption is one of the most important treatment technologies for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from tail gases, yet the separation of the absorbents and VOCs remains challenging because of concerns related to environmental impact and large energy requirements. Herein, we explored an absorption and desorption process using N,N-dimethylcyclohexylamine (CyNMe2) as a representative switchable-hydrophilicity solvent (SHS) and toluene as a representative VOC. The results showed that in comparison to common absorbents, CyNMe2 exhibits excellent toluene absorption performance. Desorption efficiencies of toluene from CyNMe2 of up to 94% were achieved by bubbling CO2 at 25 °C, and separation efficiencies of CyNMe2 from water up to 90% were achieved by bubbling N2 at 60 °C. Even after five absorption–desorption cycles, the toluene absorption capacity of CyNMe2 was comparable with that of the fresh absorbent, suggesting that CyNMe2 retains its absorption capacity. We demonstrate an innovative and reversible remediation strategy of VOCs based on SHSs, and the results indicate that SHSs can be used as an alternative to common absorbents for the removal of VOCs to reduce environmental pollution and energy consumption.

Environmental assessment of different technologies for bioethanol production from Cynara cardunculus: A Life Cycle Assessment study

Waste biomass for biofuels production can contribute to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and consequently, a decrease of CO2 emissions. In this work, the environmental feasibility of cardoon-to-bioethanol process was evaluated using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). For this purpose, three processes involving different biomass pretreatments (dilute acid (DA), single steam explosion (SE) and steam explosion + alkaline extraction (SE + AE)) were simulated by using SuperPro Designer 9.5. Simulation results and literature data were used to perform LCA by using Gabi 6.0 software. LCA results showed that the pretreatment step is the main contributor to the overall impact in the dilute acid case due to the large energy requirements. The use of steam-explosion-based pretreatments drastically reduce environmental impacts regarding to DA process, being fertilizers, chemicals and enzyme production the main important contributors. By combining single steam explosion and subsequent alkaline extraction, the environmental performance is improved compared to single steam explosion due to a reduction of the energy consumption. However, higher toxicity impacts were obtained mainly because of the larger amount of enzyme and chemicals required. GHG emissions and energy balance of bioethanol from cardoon falls within the values reported for similar lignocellulosic raw materials. Finally, the comparative study of bioethanol from cardoon and fossil gasoline indicates that steam explosion-based processes are environmentally superior in most impact categories, obtaining a dramatic reduction of the primary energy demand (80%) and the GHG emissions (45%).

Integrated membrane system without adding chemicals for produced water desalination towards zero liquid discharge

Treatment and management of produced water are of great significance but critical challenges remain due to the huge quantity and complexity of the liquid waste. Here we propose and demonstrate an integrated membrane based system combining electrodialysis, nanofiltration and membrane distillation (ED-NF-MD) for highly efficient treatment of oilfield produced water. Our new system enables zero liquid discharge (ZLD) by concentrating the produced water to an extremely high concentration (up to 373,000 mg/L) at a high water recovery of 99.8% without chemical (e.g. soda or anti-scalants) adding. To the best of our knowledge, such performance is the highest in terms of the final concentration and water recovery among various ZLD technologies. ZLD of our membrane system mainly comes from the metathesis by ED that separates the scaling ions into different streams, thereby creating a scaling-free environment. Basic economic evaluation shows that the total specific energy consumption for ZLD in the whole ED-NF-MD system includes a minimal electrical energy requirement (33 kW·h/m3) and a large thermal energy requirement for MD (154 kW·h/m3). The novel membrane based system shows great potential in realizing real ZLD in produced water treatment by minimizing scaling and thus highly concentrating the feed solution.

Synthesis of PMN-PT/PDMS Piezoelectric Composite for Energy Harvesting

Research in renewable and clean energy has reached an unprecedented magnitude owing to the growing concerns over environmental hazards caused by the traditional fuels. In this regard, solar, wind and tidal energies are considered to meet large scale energy requirements. Small, stand-alone electronic devices which are growing in numbers in next generation smart cities, can be powered by scavenging energy from sources which would otherwise remain unused, such as mechanical vibrations. The source of mechanical vibration could have diverse origins, ranging from vibrations of machines to flow of wind, motion of automobiles, and human footfall etc. Energy harvesting from the above sources can be achieved through the principle of piezoelectricity. In the present work, piezoelectric ceramic (1-x) Pb (Mg1/3Nb2/3O3)-xPbTiO3 at x = 0.3 was prepared using conventional solid state method. Lead magnesium niobate and lead titanate (PMN-PT) solid solution within the morphotropic phase boundary composition considerably fulfils the essential piezoelectric characteristics for a high energy density harvester. However, PMN-PT is brittle and thus difficult to assemble directly into an energy harvesting system. Hence flexible piezoelectric composite of 20 wt % PMN-PT and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was fabricated to evaluate its energy harvesting capability. Structural and microstructural characterization of the synthesized composite were performed using x-ray diffraction and optical microscopy. Electrical characterization was carried out using Keithley 6517B high resistance electrometer.