Natural Energy Resources Research Articles

Study on Key Design Technology of Energy Capture for Ocean Current Energy Generator Unit

The main problems in energy capture for ocean current energy generator unit are low efficiency and short service life, and it is basic to solve the problems that study on the key design technology of energy capture for ocean current energy generator unit. In this paper, depending on the national marine renewable energy resource special fund project, that is, design and fabrication on a 300kW horizontal axial ocean current energy generator unit, the key design technologies of energy capture for ocean current energy generator unit are studied. The key technologies include design of the efficient blade hydrodynamic profile suitable for running in ocean water, design of the strengthening blade considering alternating stress amplitude due to pressure difference, design of the pitching driver compliance with varies due to current speed or direction, design of accurate algorithm for driving blade rotating conform to current change consisting of consistent pitching and independent pitching as well. Thus, the reliable technology support is provided for high efficient energy capture and long term running of ocean current energy generator unit with the study on the key technologies.

Increasing the flotation efficiency for natural energy resources through the use of modifying agents

Increasing the flotation efficiency for natural energy resources through the use of modifying agents

A Comprehensive Review on Influence of Biodiesel and Additives on Performance and Emission of Diesel Engine

The depleting natural energy resources and emissions from diesel engine caused by petroleum fuels attract a need for alternative fuels such as biodiesel which will be renewable and demotes the emission. Biodiesels are world’s future energy needs which expected to deflate the dependence on imported petroleum and revitalize the economy by increasing demand and prices for agricultural products. The recent research has been made in biofuels to extract biodiesel from vegetable oil and animal oil at an economical cost. In this present review, the need of biodiesel in present scenario and the influence of biodiesel and additives from different feedstock based on properties, combustion, performance, and emission characteristics fuelled in CI engine under different operating conditions are illustrated. It is reported that the oxygenating properties of biodiesel increase brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and consequently brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and considerably reduce hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) emission. In biodiesel blends, BSFC increases with a decrease in BTE. Biodiesel shows slightly subservient performance than diesel. However, biodiesels are endowed with some disadvantages like lower calorific value, cold flow problems and higher density. To overcome these problems different additives are blended in biodiesels. It enhances the properties of biodiesels, improves the diesel engine performance, reduces the emissions and ultimately suits international fuel and emission standards. It is reported that all emissions except oxide of nitrogen (NOx) are reduced with the addition of additives. This paper proposes certain biodiesel fuels with additives to replace petroleum fuels in comparison of performance and emission.

Wind power characteristics of Oahu, Hawaii

Abstract Renewable energy is a main avenue to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change, as well as health impacts, associated with mining, refining and burning fossil fuels. Isolated locations with consistent natural energy resources patterns, such as Hawaii, have great potential to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and generate energy locally. Using a regional atmospheric model, we explored the wind-power potential of Oahu at high resolution (1 km) and over a period (2005–2014) that allowed the assessment of variability from hourly to interannual. A validation of the model using both weather stations and wind farms showed the need for observational data at the turbine hub height to correctly estimate model errors for wind power applications because the model response can be quite different at standard near-surface wind measurement heights. The model performance at larger timescales evidences the potential for long-term assessment of wind characteristics. On the other hand, the model errors at sub-daily timescales indicated limitations of short-term planning, except for sudden changes in wind speed, which were accurately simulated. Our results identify optimal locations for wind power plants from capacity factor estimates, which include analysis of mean, variability at different timescales, ramps, and sustained periods of low generation.

Two ways to success expansion of renewable energies in comparison between Germany's federal states

Expansion of renewable energies is a central pillar of the German energy transition towards a non-nuclear renewable system. The expansion rate is co-determined to a significant degree at the level of the federal states, and varies considerably from state to state. Apart from the existence of natural energy resources and general economic conditions, do parties in government play an important role for the development at the state level? We consider potentially influential factors in a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) focusing on the expansion of renewable electricity production in all 16 federal German states from 2004 to 2014. As a result, two promising ways for accelerated expansion of renewable electricity production can be identified. On the one hand, a group of economically less developed states have succeeded in promoting expansion and uses it as part of an economic modernization strategy. Within the economically more developed states, however, the party-political composition of the state governments (Green party's involvement) plays a significant role. These results also have implications for other (federal) countries beyond Germany, pointing to tailor-made policy strategies that consider these specific circumstances.

‘Our energy, our rights’: National extraction legacies and contested energy justice futures in Bangladesh

Energy poverty remains an enduring challenge in Bangladesh, with 41 million people lacking electricity. Foreign states, corporations, and financial institutions have historically shaped the form and terms of the country’s energy system, which is predominantly fossil fuel based. Shifting geographies of energy extraction and processing continue to reflect this past and influence current national energy debates in Bangladesh. The Rampal coal-fired energy project, a joint initiative with India, exemplifies these tensions. Opposition to the Rampal plant, proposed in the ecologically sensitive Sundarbans region, and other controversial energy extraction and processing projects led some activists and impacted stakeholders to promote the idea of “our energy, our rights.” The articulation of an energy rights discourse asserts that Bangladesh should extract and control national energy resources in a manner that respects rights and provides the basis for analyzing the energy justice landscape in the nation and beyond. The rights discourse rejects the nation’s legacy of poor energy decisions, and the associated realities of energy poverty. Contributing to emerging ideas around the geographies of energy justice, this research paper explores the practical application by activists and stakeholders of rights discourses to contested energy projects in Bangladesh. It shows how distributional energy justice activism critiques the historical political economy of economic liberalization and energy exploitation in the country and centers the rights concerns of energy poverty while also considering climate change vulnerabilities.

Facile synthesis of preformed mixed nano-carbon structure from low rank coal

Abstract Coal is a natural energy resource which is mainly used for energy production via combustion. Coal has nanocrystals embedded in it, formed during the coalification process, and is an ideal precursor for nano-carbon dots and diamonds. Herein, we report a facile top-down method to synthesise nanodots and diamonds of the size of 5 nm to 10 nm from three different types of coal by simple chemical leaching. TEM analysis revealed the formation of a mixture of carbon dots, graphene layers, and quantum dots in bituminous coal and sub-bituminous coal. Raman analysis confirmed the existence of synthesized nanodiamond and nano-carbon mixed phase with defects associated with it. It is concluded that graphene quantum dots, nanodiamonds, graphene sheets and carbon dots present in coal can be extracted by simple chemical treatment. These structures can be tuned to photoluminescent material for various optoelectronic applications or energy harvesting devices like super capacitors.

Improvement of the organizational legal mechanism of public risk management in the field of construction and operation of facilities during the decentralization of power

Analyzing the organizational and legal concepts of state risk management in construction, during the decentralization reform in Ukraine, attention is focused on the overall impact of risks arising from the partial delegation of managerial powers to local authorities and those directly related to the state administration of risks in the field of construction and operation of structures. It is well-proven that every region has the priorities in the management of building risks and they can conflict with not only interests of other regions but also public policy. It can result even in bankruptcy of territories, when every region will defend the interests in relation to a management risks and inculcate the own system of self-regulation of town-planning activity in a region. Presently the process of scientific research and study of level of offensive of risks in building, depending on the regional features of territory, remains a white spot in planning of activity of organs of local-authority. The question is about forming of practice of state administration risks which test changes, in building as a result of decentralization of power, as a result of leadthrough of row of marketings researches, both into industry and at the oversea market. It is noted that the result of decentralization reform could be better if the necessary constitutional changes were voted for to develop the local level of government. The author substantiates the provision that the main tasks of public authorities in the sphere of construction and operation of facilities, with decentralization, are: the territorial organization of power to ensure the reliability and safety of construction and operation facilities; the establishment of requirements for regional policy reforms that must ensure proper conditions for the functioning of construction enterprises; ensuring the proper scientific and technical level and quality of construction and operation of facilities; state management of lands, natural resources, environmental protection, rational use of land and natural resources, saving material, energy and labor resources and others. An organizational and legal mechanism for the adoption of public-management decisions in the sphere of state construction policy has been developed and its advantages have been revealed.

SELECTION OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES INDONESIAN WARSHIP PATROL CRAFT 36 CLASS USING LIFE CYCLE COST (LCC) AND TOPSIS (TECHNIQUE FOR ORDER PREFERENCE BY SIMILARITY TO IDEAL SOLUTION)

ABSTRACT
 Indonesia has abundant natural resources of oil and gas energy. Domestic fuel supply is not entirely fulfilled by domestic oil refineries, almost 20% -30% of domestic oil demand must be imported from abroad. This has an impact on the Navy. Steps to address this problem through switching to the use of alternative energy fuels for the Indonesian warship class Patrol Craft 36. The selection of appropriate alternatives requires analysis of information and identification of alternative fuel requirements to be selected. The approach in this study uses Life Cycle Cost method to see the life cycle cost of alternative and combined TOPSIS (Technique For Order Preference By Similarity To Ideal Solution) approach to other than cost factor, and Benefit Cost Ratio. The result of data processing of alternative energy sources selected is gas, CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) with the value of Benefit Cost Ratio 53,7051 Life Cycle Cost IDR 14,168,302,864.
 Keywords: Alternative Energy, Life Cycle Cost, TOPSIS.

WIND ENERGY AS AN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCE(Study Case at South Coastal of Yogyakarta Special Province, Indonesia)

The need of larger quantity of energy to fulfill the demand of energy, especially thefossil fuel, forced the government of almost all nation try to find the new kind of energy orknown as alternative energy resources. Fossil fuel as non-renewable energy resources wouldbe decreased by the time if the using of it not under controlled. This kind of energy resourcesused to handle almost all the people need of energy, such as for domestic uses, industrial,tourism, etc. The used of fossil fuel for that purposed mostly for generated the electricitypower (by built the power plant). Many natural energy resources can used to generateelectricity power plant, but there always be some advantages and bad impact, especially forthe environments. One of environmental friendly alternative energy resources is exploitingthe form of wind power.Keyword: alternative energy, wind energy, windmills farms, human well-being.

Cyanobacterial Farming for Environment Friendly Sustainable Agriculture Practices: Innovations and Perspectives

Sustainable supply of food and energy without posing any threat to environment is the current demand of our society in view of continuous increase in global human population and depletion of natural resources of energy. Cyanobacteria have recently emerged as potential candidates who can fulfil abovementioned needs due to their ability to efficiently harvest solar energy and convert it into biomass by simple utilization of CO2, water and nutrients. During conversion of radiant energy into chemical energy, these biological systems produce oxygen as a by-product. Cyanobacterial biomass can be used for the production of food, energy, biofertilizers, secondary metabolites of nutritional, cosmetics and medicinal importance. Therefore, cyanobacterial farming is proposed as environment friendly sustainable agricultural practice which can produce biomass of very high value. Additionally, cyanobacterial farming helps in decreasing the level of greenhouse gas, i.e., CO2, and it can be also used for removing various contaminants from wastewater and soil. However, utilization of cyanobacteria for resolving the abovementioned problems is subjected to economic viability. In this review, we provide details on different aspects of cyanobacterial system that can help in developing sustainable agricultural practices. We also describe different large-scale cultivation systems for cyanobacterial farming and discuss their merits and demerits in terms of economic profitability.

The Effects of the Management of Natural Energy Resources in the European Union

This paper is devoted to the study of the impact of the management of natural energy resources on sustainable development and green growth. The object of the study is the process of management of natural energy resources.
 An indicator of adjusted net savings was used to estimate sustainable development. The performed comparative analysis of the adjusted net savings without subtraction and subtraction of the costs of extracting energy natural resources as a result of the synthesis shows a significant difference. It is on average for 2012-2016 is 4% of gross national income for the whole world. When subtracting production costs, the adjusted net savings will be much smaller and this fact must be taken into account.
 In order to simultaneously take into account the economic situation of the country, the depletion of energy resources, their consumption, and the consequence of consumption, relevant indicators are proposed, as well as a special index for estimating the changes over time. The results of the study show that most countries in the European Union have positive adjusted energy and carbon efficiency, since they are higher than global measures. In addition, the relationship between carbon efficiency and energy efficiency in these countries is still very close. The analysis of changes in time as a result of synthesis also showed positive results, according to which the adjusted energy efficiency in most countries of the European Union is growing. According to the high growth rates of this indicator, some countries have a good opportunity to make significant progress in green growth, although this may require expensive investments.

Renewable energy and power cooperation between China and six Latin American nations

China has been entitled the biggest supplier and largest market of renewable energy for the past few years. With One Belt and One Road initiative carrying on, the China’s renewable energy industry is looking for opportunities across the world. Latin America, which has rich renewable energy resources and urge demand for a cleaner and more sustainable energy system, may become an important target market for China. The prospect and potential of renewable energy cooperation between China and Latin America are promising. In this paper, six Latin American nations of varied background were selected as study cases. Their nation profile, energy resources, power market, and energy development trends were analysed, and the cooperation prospect and potential between these nations and China in renewable energy sector were discussed. The results indicate that Argentina and Bolivia are most potential cooperation partners, and project development and equipment manufacturing of non-hydro renewable energy, along with power grid upgrading are the prioritized areas. In addition, recommendations and solutions addressing the issues and challenges incurred in the current bilateral energy cooperation between China and Latin American nations were proposed.

Life Cycle Assessment of Reusable and Disposable Cleanroom Coveralls.

Cleanroom garments serve a critical role in such industries as pharmaceuticals, life sciences, and semiconductor manufacturing. These textiles are available in reusable and disposable alternatives. In this report, the environmental sustainability of cleanroom coveralls is examined using life cycle assessment technology. The complete supply chain, manufacture, use, and end-of-life phases for reusable and disposable cleanroom coveralls are compared on a cradle-to-end-of-life cycle basis. Three industry representative coveralls are examined: a reusable woven polyethylene terephthalate (PET) coverall, a disposable flash spunbonded high-density polyethylene (HDPE) coverall, and a disposable spunbond-meltblown-spunbond polypropylene (SMS PP) coverall. The reusable cleanroom coverall system shows substantial improvements over both disposable cleanroom coverall systems in all environmental impact categories. The improvements over the disposable HDPE coverall were 34% lower process energy (PE), 23% lower natural resource energy (NRE), 27% lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and 73% lower blue water consumption. The improvements over the disposable SMS PP coverall were 59% lower PE, 56% lower NRE, 57% lower GHG emissions, and 77% lower blue water consumption. In addition, the reusable system shows a 94-96% reduction in solid waste to the landfill from the cleanroom facility. Between the two disposable cleanroom coveralls, the flash spunbonded HDPE coverall shows a measurable environmental improvement over the SMS PP coverall.LAY ABSTRACT: Pharmaceutical drugs are manufactured and handled in controlled environments called cleanrooms to ensure the safety and quality of products. In order to maintain strict levels of cleanliness, cleanroom personnel are required to wear garments such as coveralls, hoods, and gloves that restrict the transfer of particles from the person to the environment. These garments are available in reusable and disposable types. Cleanroom operators consider a number of factors when selecting between reusable and disposable garments, including price, comfort, and environmental sustainability.In this report, the environmental sustainability of reusable and disposable cleanroom coveralls is examined using a technique called life cycle assessment. With this technique, environmental parameters such as energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are quantified and compared for three market representative cleanroom coveralls, from raw material extraction through manufacturing, use, and final disposal. Reusable coveralls were found to substantially outperform disposable coveralls in all environmental parameters examined. This is an important conclusion that supports cleanroom companies that select reusable coveralls to be more sustainable.

Принципы энергоснабжения горных предприятий при использовании естественных энергоресурсов горных провинций

Принципы энергоснабжения горных предприятий при использовании естественных энергоресурсов горных провинций

Empowering Australia in the global oil and gas standardisation initiative

The World Economic Forum has identified the oil and gas industry’s poor productivity performance as a significant barrier to the sanction of large capital projects. 75% of large exploration and production projects between 2010 and 2014 exceeded their budget by 50% on average and 50% of these projects exceeded schedule by almost 40%. A major cause of these poor productivity outcomes is the lack of standardisation. In Australia, the Productivity Commission raised similar concerns about Australian projects. In 2015, the government launched its competitiveness agenda that saw the formation of six industry growth centres, including National Energy Resources Australia (NERA) for oil and gas, coal and uranium. In 2017, NERA, as part of the global standardisation initiative being pursued through the International Oil and Gas Producers Association, successfully delivered a project to elevate Australia to full participating member status of the International Standards Organisation’s Technical Committee for oil and gas, petrochemicals and energy. Australia’s participation is coordinated through Standards Australia’s committee, ME-092, that also oversees several working groups progressing specific initiatives to enhance Australia’s competitiveness. This paper describes Australia’s position within the global oil and gas standardisation initiative, highlights the strategy being pursued to maximise productivity through the adoption of international standards and discusses areas being led by Australian initiatives as part of the international program. Information will be provided on how opportunities can be realised through this initiative and on the role of professionals in supporting Australia’s drive to build a regional oil and gas hub that will attract capital investment for decades to come.

Building a world-class Australian decommissioning industry

Collaboration in decommissioning offshore infrastructure could save both industry and taxpayers billions of dollars and facilitate new industries and exports for Australia, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. At the end of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant construction boom, Australia must not miss out on this major new opportunity. The 2017 bid for Commonwealth funding to establish a Decommissioning Offshore Infrastructure Cooperative Research Centre (DOI-CRC) involved more than 30 participants and many other collaborators. High-level commitments were made by Chevron, Woodside, Shell, BHP, ExxonMobil, Quadrant, The University of Western Australia, Curtin University, the University of New South Wales, Deakin University, Australian Maritime College, CSIRO and Australian Institute of Marine Science. A Perth-based DOI-CRC was supported by National Energy Resources Australia, National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority and other Australian Government bodies and by the Western Australian Government and its Chief Scientist and agencies but did not receive sufficient support from the CRC Advisory Committee. Meeting decommissioning challenges in the North West Shelf, Bass Strait and the Northern Territory in a timely, robust, scientific, efficient and cost-effective manner that contributes to a sustainable marine environment should draw upon and augment international best practice with local capability and expertise. Good science and innovative engineering are needed to support regulatory approval of options such as ‘rigs to reefs’ and commercial opportunities such as in waste management and expanded fishing and tourism. APPEA and operators wish to maintain DOI-CRC’s momentum and learn from UK research arrangements through funding marine science projects. But we must be much broader if we are to build a sustainable world-class Australian decommissioning industry. In particular, we need to work more closely with state and federal regulators and policymakers and undertake more engineering science research and innovation.

Development of radionuclide dispersion modeling software based on Gaussian Plume model

It has come to attention that Malaysia have been aiming to build its own nuclear power plant (NPP) for electricity generation in 2030 to diversify the national energy supply and resources. As part of the regulation to build a NPP, environmental risk assessment analysis which includes the atmospheric dispersion assessment has to be performed as required by the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) prior to the commissioning process. The assessment is to investigate the dispersion of radioactive effluent from the NPP in the event of nuclear accident. This article will focus on current development of locally developed atmospheric dispersion modeling code based on Gaussian Plume model. The code is written in Fortran computer language and has been benchmarked to a readily available HotSpot software. The radionuclide release rate entering the Gaussian equation is approximated to the value found in the Fukushima NPP accident in 2011. Meteorological data of Mersing District, Johor of year 2013 is utilized for the calculations. The results show that the dispersion of radionuclide effluent can potentially affect areas around Johor Bahru district, Singapore and some parts of Riau when the wind direction blows from the North-northeast direction. The results from our code was found to be in good agreement with the one obtained from HotSpot, with less than 1% discrepancy between the two.

Financial and economic aspects of bioenergy development in the context of providing energy independence of Ukraine

The article deals with financial and economic meaning of bioenergy as an important component of the country’s energy security. The problem of transition to renewable energy sources, in particular biofuels, was investigated. The relevance of research is that biofuels can fully replace traditional energy resources, increase the level of economic efficiency of production and competitiveness of national economy, as well as reduce amount of harmful emissions into the environment. The purpose of research is to study and develop theoretical and practical principles of financial and economic development of bioenergy and its role in ensuring energy independence of Ukraine. In the context of financial and economic crisis and political instability, the development of bioenergy industry is of priority in dealing with main social and economic problems. One of the main aspects of bioenergy development is states’ concern and use of targeted state funding. Moreover, other perspective ways to implement bioenergy technologies in Ukraine are public private partnership and attraction of foreign direct investments. Economic assessment of different ways of full or partial replacement of natural gas has shown that they can be supplied with biomass, while the total capacity of introduced objects according to the bioenergy development program can save natural energy resources. According to the formula of the method of average medium, the forecast of optimistic and pessimistic scenario of energy potential development is developed. Energy independence of Ukraine can be ensured through effective implementation of alternative energy with full state support, which will lead to acceleration of economic development of the territories, increasing level of life of people and environmental security of the country.

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF OPTIMIZING OF CITIES LIGHT ENVIRONMENT

The problem of optimizing the light environment of cities is one of the major problems in current urban planning. Natural light environment is a distribution of the optical radiation spectrum in space, perceived in the form of visual and other psycho-physiological reactions and physical and biological state of the environment of his life. Health and sanitary-epidemiological welfare of the population, municipal economy, effi - ciency of capital investment in the construction and preservation of non-renewable natural energy resources of the country are determined by level of utilization of natural light. In article on the basis of the study methodological bases of formation of the light environment are proposed and a number of promising directions of optimization as the main formative, environmental and economic factors of structural-spatial development of cities are revealed.