Low-cost Energy Research Articles

Time-optimal control of a solid-state spin amidst dynamical quantum wind

Time-optimal control holds promise across the full spectrum of quantum technologies, where the rapid generation of unitary gates and state transformations is crucial to mitigate decoherence effects. In practical scenarios, quantum systems are always immersed in an external time-dependent field or potential, either owing to the inevitable influence of the environment or as a sought-after effect for enhanced coherence. The challenge then lies in finding the time-optimal approach to navigate quantum systems amidst dynamical ambient Hamiltonians, a pursuit that has proven elusive thus far. We showcase the implementation of arbitrary quantum state transformations and a universal set of single-qubit gates under a background Landau-Zener Hamiltonian. Leveraging the favorable coherence properties of timedomain Rabi oscillations, we achieve velocities surpassing the Mandelstam-Tamm quantum speed limit and significantly lower energy costs than those incurred by conventional quantum control techniques. These findings highlight a promising pathway to expedite and economize high-fidelity quantum operations.

Effect of the microwave treatment on anti-nutrients of soybeans

BACKGROUND: Soybeans contain anti-nutrients that have to be inactivated before being used as feed for livestock and poultry. AIM: Obtaining the new data on the effect of the heat treatment on soybeans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Soybeans of the Dongsheng 22 and SK Alta varieties were processed with micronization, autoclaving and microwaves in the developed microwave unit. RESULTS: After micronization, the decrease in total starch was 10–16%, after autoclaving and microwave treatment — 15–17%. The three kinds of treatment did not have a significant effect on total phenolic content. The content of flavonoids increased by 7–9% after autoclaving and micronization and by 16% after microwave treatment. When micronizing and autoclaving soybeans, no changes in antioxidant activity were observed, but with microwave treatment, it increased by 3–5%. The decrease in trypsin inhibitor activity was 80% after microwave treatment and 73–79% after micronization and autoclaving. The tannin content was reduced by 10% with microwave treatment and by 7–9% after micronization and autoclaving. The decrease in phytic acid content was 43–45% and repeated for all kinds of treatment. CONCLUSION: The reduction of antinutrients after micronization, autoclaving and microwave processing ensures the use of soybeans for feed. Milder temperature conditions and cyclic processes of heating and cooling during microwave processing increase the safety of soybeans. The higher heating rate and low energy costs of microwave processing ensure economic feasibility.

Construction of Nano ZnV2O4/N‐Doped Porous Carbon Composites with Optimized Ionic and Electronic Conductivities as Competitive Cathodes toward Zinc‐Ion Capacitors

AbstractZinc‐ion capacitors (ZICs) have great potential for energy storage applications due to high safety, environmental friendliness, low cost, and high energy density. However, challenges such as poor ion diffusion kinetics and the low conductivity of cathode materials still need to be addressed. Nano ZnV2O4/nitrogen‐doped porous carbon (ZVO/N‐PC) composites are efficiently synthesized via a simple annealing process. Highly crystalline ZVO nanoparticles are in‐situ grown on the three‐dimensional N‐PC surface by precisely tuning the ratio of the vanadium source, achieving a dual enhancement in electronic and ionic conductivities. Benefiting from the nanoengineering build‐up, the optimized ZVO‐0.6/N‐PC anode exhibits impressive rate performance (405.9/308.8 mAh g−1 at 0.2/5.0 A g−1) and cycling capability (0.0029 % capacity drop per cycle at 5.0 A g−1 after 5,800 cycles). Using nitrogen‐doped porous activated carbon (N‐PAC) as the anode and ZVO‐0.6/N‐PC as the cathode, the assembled ZICs deliver a high energy density of 27.5 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 450.0 W kg−1. After 10,000 cycles at 1.0 A g−1, the capacity retention rate remains as 72.8 %, demonstrating excellent cycling stability. This highlights the promising application of nano ZVO/N‐PC composites towards ZICs as competitive cathodes.

Unlocking new export opportunities: An open-source framework for assessing green iron and steel supply chains

Globally traded commodities such as iron and steel are coming under international scrutiny owing to their significant embedded greenhouse emissions. Commodity export-oriented nations must explore opportunities for decarbonising these supply chains or risk losing market share as customers seek cleaner alternatives and as initiatives such as carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAM) come into effect. Here we present an open-source model developed to assist industry and other stakeholders in assessing the costs of potential CO2 abatement pathways in supplying green iron ore, green iron, or green steel to key global markets. Using a case study, we assess the development of a green steel supply chain from major iron ore producers of Australia, Brazil, and Sweden, to key markets in Europe, China, and India. Projected costs of renewable energy and other key technologies are used to estimate possible future costs of different decarbonisation pathways. Our modelling suggests that by 2050, export costs of green iron ore, iron and steel could range from 48 to 150, 370–600 and 540–810 USD/tonne respectively. Access to low-cost renewable energy is the key driver of cost reductions for value added products such as iron and steel, and given their substantial renewable energy potential, in 2050 Australia and Brazil could outcompete Sweden in providing these products, with both even outcompeting Sweden in exporting to the European market. The release of our model as open source allows any and all stakeholders to explore the implications of key technology and market uncertainties over least cost green iron and steel supply chains.

Enhanced low-field energy storage performance and dielectric stability in (Bi0.4Sr0.2K0.2Na0.2)(Ti1-xZrx)O3high-entropy ceramics via B-Site modification

The current global energy situation is tense, necessitating the development of high-efficiency, low-cost, and eco-friendly energy materials. In this study, a series of perovskite lead-free relaxor ferroelectric ceramics, denoted as (Bi0.4Sr0.2K0.2Na0.2)(Ti1-xZrx)O3 (BSKNT-xZr) were designed to enhance the storage performance. The findings indicate that all samples exhibit a single perovskite structure. As the Zr4+ content increases, the configurational entropy of the samples increases, the cell volume expands, and the hysteresis loops become finer, while maintaining a high maximum polarization (Pm) and effectively enhancing the energy storage performance. For the ceramics with x = 0.10, the energy density (Wtot), recoverable energy density (Wrec), and energy storage efficiency (η) values were determined to be 3.16 J/cm3, 2.67 J/cm3, and 84.3%, respectively, under an electric field of 230 kV/cm. Moreover, the introduction of Zr4+ reduces the relative permittivity and broadens the temperature range (ΔT) that simultaneously satisfies Δε/ε150°C ≤ ±15% and 0 ≤ tanδ ≤ 0.02. This investigation underscores the potential of BSKNT-xZr ceramics as high-performance, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly energy materials for addressing global energy requirements.

Achieving the dendrite-free zinc anode by constructing a Sn-C interfacial layer with zincophilic and conductive network

Under the basic national policy of sustainable green development, high-performance and low-cost energy storage devices are urgently needed for intermittent generation of clean energy and storage of electrical energy. Zn metal with high capacity, abundant reserves and excellent plasticity, but the inevitable side reactions (hydrogen precipitation and corrosion, etc.) of the Zn metal anode itself have severely limited the development of aqueous Zn ion batteries (AZIBs) in the market. In this study, an artificial protective layer of polymer-derived carbon material combined with Sn is prepared to inhibit hydrogen precipitation and corrosion and prolong the lifetime of AZIBs. With these advantages, the Zn@Sn@N doped carbon (Zn@CNS) symmetric cell could achieve a stable cycle life of 1000 h at 2 mA cm-2 and low overpotential. The excellent stripping life of over 400 h is achieved in half-cells assembled with Cu foils. Furthermore, the α-MnO2//Zn@CNS full battery shows superior stability in rate capability and long-term capacity retention compared to the α-MnO2//Zn battery, indicating that the CNS coating provides excellent performance and practical value.

Current development, optimisation strategies and future perspectives for lead-free dielectric ceramics in high field and high energy density capacitors.

To meet the United Nations' sustainable development goal of affordable and clean energy, there has been a growing need for low-cost, green, and safe energy storage technologies. High-field and energy-density capacitors have gained substantial attention from academics and industry, particularly for power electronics, where they will play a key role in optimising the performance of management systems in electric vehicles. The key figure of merit, energy density (Wrec), for high-field applications has dramatically increased year-on-year from 2020 to 2024, as evidenced by over 250 papers, demonstrating ever larger Wrec values. This review briefly introduces the background and principles of high energy density ceramics, but its focus is to provide constructive and comprehensive insight into the evaluation of Wrec, Emax, ΔP, and η, and more importantly, the normalised metrics, Wrec/Emax and Wrec/ΔP in lead-free dielectric ceramics. We also present several optimisation strategies for materials modification and process innovation that have been recently proposed before providing perspectives for the further development of high-field and high-energy density capacitors.

New emerging market economies and the roles of energy use, financial development and socioeconomic aspects

AbstractIn recent years, emerging market economies have consistently achieved growth rates above the world average. In this study, the nexus among economic growth, energy consumption, industrialization, financial development, trade openness, and urbanization were tested over the period 1995–2019 for selected emerging countries (Colombia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico and Poland). The main findings of this study are as follows: The results showed that energy consumption, industrialization, and financial development positively affected economic growth for the entire panel. While trade openness negatively affected economic growth, urbanization was statistically insignificant. The Dumitrescu and Hurlin causality test results indicate bidirectional causality between energy consumption and economic growth. Economic growth and energy consumption are the causes of industrialization. Thus, it can be concluded that a low-cost energy supply will help maintain economic performance with incentive policies such as tax deductions and credits provided for producers in the examined countries.

Study on Phase Change Materials’ Heat Transfer Characteristics of Medium Temperature Solar Energy Collection System

Within the next five years, renewable energy is expected to account for approximately 80% of the new global power generation capacity, with solar power contributing to more than half of this growth. However, the intermittent nature of solar energy remains a significant challenge to fully realizing its potential. Thus, efficient energy storage is crucial for optimizing the effectiveness and dependability of renewable energy. Phase-change materials (PCMs) can play an important role in solar energy storage due to their low cost and high volumetric energy storage density. The low thermal conductivity of PCMs restricts their use for energy storage, despite their immense potential. Hence, the primary goal of this study is to experimentally investigate the energy storage capacity of two blended phase-change materials (paraffin and barium hydroxide octahydrate) through integration with a medium-temperature solar heat collection system. The experimental findings reveal that the blended PCMs possess the highest cumulative charge fraction (0.59), energy capacity, and low energy loss compared to each PCM alone. Furthermore, the phase change storage tank achieves higher heat storage (27%) and exergy storage efficiency (18%) compared to the stored tank water without any PCMs. The blended PCMs enhanced their performance, exhibiting improved interaction and excellent thermal storage properties across a range of temperatures, offering an opportunity for the design of an energy-efficient, low-cost storage system.

Application of Spectrogel clay as a support for immobilization of lipase from Burkholderia cepacia

AbstractThe interest in maximizing the production of ethyl esters in a sustainable way and with lower energy costs has increased the use of immobilized enzymes as catalysts. This study aimed to apply the commercial clay Spectrogel® as a support for the immobilization of lipase from Burkholderia cepacia by adsorption and covalent bonding methods. The immobilizations were carried out using a 23 factorial design to study the effects of the activity offered (U g−1), pH, and the molar concentration of the enzyme solution buffer (mol L−1) on the enzyme activity obtained (U g−1). From the statistical analysis of the results, the best conditions for immobilization were pH 7.0 and 0.1 mol L−1 for both tested immobilization methods, with the best offered activity being 5709 and 7600 U g−1. The activities obtained were 1219.81 ± 7.51 and 1274.89 ± 14.99 U g−1 for adsorption and covalent bonding, respectively. The biocatalysts exhibited protein leaching of 33.55 ± 1.08% and 19.44 ± 2.43% when immobilized by adsorption and covalent bonding, respectively. The optimal activity temperature and thermal stability were obtained at 40°C. Additionally, the immobilization of lipase in Spectrogel® by both methods was efficient, showing higher thermal stability than the free enzyme. Thus, this work contributed scientifically to the development of a new and economical biocatalyst for ethyl ester production.

A Feasible Strategy for High-Performance Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries: Introducing Conducting Polymer.

Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) offer great potential for large-scale energy storage because of their high safety, low cost and acceptable energy density. However, the cycle life of AZIBs is inevitably affected by parasitic reactions and dendritic growth caused by multiple factors such as electrode, electrolyte and separator, which pose significant obstacles to the practical application of AZIBs. To address these challenges, conducting polymer (CP) based materials have gained widespread attention in the realm of rechargeable batteries due to the adjustable band gap, controllable morphology, and excellent flexibility of CPs. In particular, CPs exhibit remarkable conductivity, low dimensionality, and doping characteristics, making them highly promising for integration into the AZIB system. In this review, the problems associated with the cathode, anode, electrolyte, and separator of AZIBs are discussed, and the application of CPs for their modification is summarized. The review provides a comprehensive analysis of the action mechanisms involved in the CP modification process and offers valuable insights for the design and development of CPs that can be effectively utilized in AZIBs. Additionally, the review presents a promising outlook of this research field, aiming to further advance the application of low-cost and high-performance CPs and their composites in AZIBs.

New stable rare earth Ti-based semiconductor pyrochlore oxides for low-cost energy applications

New stable rare earth Ti-based semiconductor pyrochlore oxides for low-cost energy applications

Synergistic enhancement in hydrodynamic cavitation combined with peroxymonosulfate fenton-like process for bpa degradation: New insights into the role of cavitation bubbles in regulation reaction pathway

The combination of hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) and Fenton-like oxidation technology can dramatically enhance the pollutant removal capacity, however, the synergistic effect of cavitation and catalysts on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation remained enigmatic. In this study, we established a combined system based on HC and Ce-MnFe2O4 activated peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for BPA removal, and attentions were paid on the role of cavitation bubbles. The results show that the combination of HC in Ce-MnFe2O4 activated PMS could mediate the degradation of BPA from the non-radical pathway dominated by 1O2 to •O2− dominated radical pathway. Both controlled experiments and theoretical calculations revealed that the cavitation bubbles with different sizes play the dominant role in ROS generation. The microjets produced by the collapse of cavitation bubbles could create a large number of oxygen vacancy defects on Ce-MnFe2O4 surface, which modify the activation barrier of PMS and facilitate the generation of •O2− thermodynamically. The stable existing cavitation bubbles with the size of 100∼400 nm could create considerable gas-liquid interface. The molecular dynamics simulations show that the nano bubbles can concentrate the BPA and increase the probability of contacts between BPA and Ce-MnFe2O4, hence effectively solve the issues of short lifetime of •O2− radicals and limited mass transfer distance to strengthen the reaction. In addition, the PMS/Ce-MnFe2O4/HC system not only achieves the satisfied COD (95 %) and TOC (65 %) removal efficiency but also enabled the BPA-contaminated water with a low energy cost of 0.065 kWh·m−3 and oxidant cost, highlighting the application potential of the HC technology for contaminated water.

Performance‐Oriented Understanding and Design of a Robotic Tadpole: Lower Energy Cost, Higher Speed

Performance‐Oriented Understanding and Design of a Robotic Tadpole: Lower Energy Cost, Higher Speed

Multifunctional Self-Assembled Bio-Interfacial Layers for High-Performance Zinc Metal Anodes.

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion (Zn-ion) batteries are widely regarded as important candidates for next-generation energy storage systems for low-cost renewable energy storage. However, the development of Zn-ion batteries is currently facing significant challenges due to uncontrollable Zn dendrite growth and severe parasitic reactions on Zn metal anodes. Herein, we report an effective strategy to improve the performance of aqueous Zn-ion batteries by leveraging the self-assembly of bovine serum albumin (BSA) into a bilayer configuration on Zn metal anodes. BSA's hydrophilic and hydrophobic fragments form unique and intelligent ion channels, which regulate the migration of Zn ions and facilitate their desolvation process, significantly diminishing parasitic reactions on Zn anodes and leading to a uniform Zn deposition along the Zn (002) plane. Notably, the Zn||Zn symmetric cell with BSA as the electrolyte additive demonstrated a stable cycling performance for up to 2400 hours at a high current density of 10 mA cm-2. This work demonstrates the pivotal role of self-assembled protein bilayer structures in improving the durability of Zn anodes in aqueous Zn-ion batteries.

Electrolyte Design Enables Stable and Energy-dense Potassium-ion Batteries.

Free from strategically important elements such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper, potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) are heralded as promising low-cost and sustainable electrochemical energy storage systems that complement the existing lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the reported electrochemical performance of PIBs is still suboptimal, especially under practically relevant battery manufacturing conditions. The primary challenge stems from the lack of electrolytes capable of concurrently supporting both the low-voltage anode and high-voltage cathode with satisfactory Coulombic efficiency (CE) and cycling stability. Herein, we report a promising electrolyte that facilitates the commercially mature graphite anode (> 3 mAh cm-2) to achieve an initial CE of 91.14% (with an average cycling CE around 99.94%), fast redox kinetics, and negligible capacity fading for hundreds of cycles. Meanwhile, the electrolyte also demonstrates good compatibility with the 4.4 V (vs. K+/K) high-voltage K2Mn[Fe(CN)6] (KMF) cathode. Consequently, the KMF||graphite full-cell without precycling treatment of both electrodes can provide an average discharge voltage of 3.61 V with a specific energy of 316.5 Wh kg-1-(KMF+graphite), comparable to the LiFePO4||graphite LIBs, and maintain 71.01% capacity retention after 2000 cycles.

Techno – economic and environmental design of a three – phase hybrid renewable energy system for UNVDA Ndop Cameroon using meta-heuristic and analytical approaches

A three – phase hybrid renewable energy system have been proposed in this study as an alternate current grid power supply for an agro – company in the North – West Region of Cameroon. In this study, an industrial load profile with an energy demand of 383.45 kWh/day, 72.79 kWp peak and a residential load with energy demand of 33.26 kWh/day, 2.7 kWp peak have been considered in solving the economic, technical and environmental aspects of the optimization problem. To achieve the best results, a two step methodology has been implored to design the system. The first method requires an analytical approach used to determine the required battery, inverter, diesel generator capacities and the number of three phase PV arrays (NF). The second methodology is a techno – economic and environmental analysis conducted for different number of NF using three meta-heuristic algorithms; ABC, GA and PSO. The obtained results from these methodologies showed that for different values of NF, the REF was in the range 62.9–99.8 % in the Photovoltaic hybrid system (PVHS). The lowest cost of energy was 0.1441 €/kWh at a final REF of 99.8 % compared to a standalone system with an energy cost of 0.1655 €/kWh. The PVHS consist of a 117 kW PV array, 30 kW inverter, 160 kW diesel generator operating at a load factor of 75 % and a battery bank capacity of 43.2 kWh. The Standalone option consist of a 126 kW PV array, 135 kW inverter and a battery bank capacity of 475.2 kWh. The large inverter capacity and battery bank in the standalone system accounts for the high energy cost compared to the PVHS. This study can be used to evaluate and validate the performance of hybrid renewable energy systems for agro – companies whose load profile lack time series data and require a three – phase supply for industrial applications.

Synthesis of chemical bath deposited Manganese oxide thin films for high performance supercapacitor

The present study addresses the growing need for high-performance supercapacitors, emphasizing the benefits of Manganese oxide (MnO2) thin film as a promising electrode material. Thin film deposition of MnO2 is achieved through Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) method by varying the deposition time on the stainless steel substrate. In order to investigate impact of deposition time on various physico-chemical properties of MnO2 thin films, different characterizations were carried out like X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, Energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, Galvanostatic charge–discharge analysis. The deposited MnO2 thin films are subsequently studied for their electrochemical properties in a 1 M KOH electrolyte solution. Remarkably, the best specific capacitance is obtained about 296.5 F/g at current density of 0.5 A/g, with 86.42 % retention after 5000 cycles, highlighting the excellent electrochemical performance of the MnO2 thin films deposited at 6 hrs of reaction time. This work highlights valuable insights into the CBD deposited MnO2 thin films for supercapacitor applications, providing a foundation for the development of an efficient, low-cost, and scalable energy storage devices.

Investigating the structural, electronic, optical and thermodynamic properties of ATiO3 (A = Ba, Ca, Ra) for low-cost energy applications

The structural, optoelectronic, and thermodynamic characteristics of ATiO3 (A = Ba, Ca, Ra) perovskites have comprehensively been investigation first-principles based DFT calculations. The GGA method was employed to handle exchange and correlation potentials. The analysis of the E-V plots indicates that RaTiO3 exhibits the highest level of stability in comparison to BaTiO3 and CaTiO3. The direct band-gap characteristic of the ATiO3 (A = Ba, Ca, Ra) perovskites is apparent in the band structure plots. The band gaps for BaTiO3, CaTiO3, and RaTiO3 are 2.48, 3.15, and 1.91 eV, respectively. The analyzed materials exhibit the highest level of photon absorption in the near UV area, as demonstrated in the ε2(ω) plots. The refractive index n(ω) values reveal that ATiO3 (A = Ba, Ca, Ra) are active optical materials as their n(ω) values are between 1 and 2. These perovskite oxides have optical features that make them promising prospects for anti-reflecting coatings over entire energy span as these materials exhibits a very low reflection (∼20 %) of incident photons. The thermodynamic properties of ATiO3 (A = Ba, Ca, Ra) are assessed to determine their dynamical stability and suitability for thermal applications. The results of the investigation demonstrate that these perovskite oxides have the potential to be used in optoelectronic devices.

The Influence of Cuprum (II) Acetate (Cu (CH3COO)2) Dopant and Heating Temperature in The Fabrication of Thin Films of Barium Strontium Titanate (Ba0.4Sr0.6TiO3)

Abstract Barium Strontium Titanate (BST), or BaxSr1-xTiO3, is an excellent ferroelectric material that is widely used on thin film applications in microelectronic devices, making BST very essential to the tech industries. This research aims to fabricate Cuprum doped BST thin films at low temperature using the Chemical Solution Deposition (CSD) and spin coating technique, and then to analyze the thin film’s band gap energy from the UV-Vis curve, XRD Spectral and EDAX. The advantage lies in the use of low temperatures in which it allows a significant energy savings compared to other studies. Using the Kubelka-Munk method with the Tauc Plot relation, the bandgap energy values for each BST substrates were obtained. Without Cuprum (II) Acetate dopant, the Band Gap values of the thin film samples are 3.84 eV and 3.77 eV. With 3% concentration of Cuprum (II) Acetate dopant, we obtained smaller Band Gap values, which are 3.74 eV and 3.71 eV. Based on the XRD spectral analysis, the lattice parameters were determined with a tetragonal crystal structure. However, according to the EDAX analysis, the elemental composition obtained is not yet stoichiometric. This research is important to serve as a reference for other researchers and manufacturers to opt into fabrication of thin films with lower energy cost, provide guidance for researchers to have more flexibility in their own thin film fabrication.