Renewable Research Articles

Enhanced Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Water Electrolysis Using Bimetallic NiFe Metal-Organic Frameworks Integrated with Carbon Nanotubes

Hydrogen is considered a very clean and highly available renewable energy resource for the future. Water electrolysis (WE) is a conspicuous promising technology to produce hydrogen on a large scale, without generating carbon dioxide. In this study, we prepared bimetallic NiFe-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) integrated with CNTs (NiFe–BTC@CNTs) as highly efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline water electrolysis. Combining NiFe MOFs and CNTs significantly enhanced the electrochemical performance and structural integrity of the catalyst. The NiFe–BTC@CNT (30 wt.% CNTs) demonstrates a significant low overpotential of 230 mV at 10 mA·cm⁻2, superior catalytic activity with a Tafel slope of 36 mV·dec⁻1, and excellent stability under both constant and dynamic operating conditions. These unique characteristics are attributed to the high surface area and abundant active sites provided by the bimetallic MOF structure, combined with the exceptional electrical conductivity and mechanical strength of CNTs. Furthermore, the integration of CNTs improves the dispersion while preventing the agglomeration of MOF particles, ensuring a more uniform and accessible active surface area. This research highlights the potential of the NiFe–BTC@CNT catalysts as high-performance durable electrocatalysts for sustainable hydrogen production, offering a significant advance in the development of advanced materials for energy conversion and storage applications.

Impact of green trade on green growth in Malaysia: A dynamic ARDL simulation

Green economic growth emphasizes developing an economy that safeguards natural resources, enhances resource capabilities, and promotes sustainable resource utilization. This approach is vital for balancing economic development with environmental preservation, highlighting the efficient and sustainable use of renewable and non-renewable resources to maintain a clean environment and societal well-being. It also stresses the long-term preservation of natural resources for green growth and prosperity. Environmental sustainability is key for economic growth, as poor sustainability can lead to economic decline due to inefficient resource use. The Eleventh Malaysia Plan highlights the importance of green economic growth, focusing on areas such as creating a supportive environment for green growth, adopting sustainable consumption and production practices, conserving natural resources, and strengthening resilience against climate change and natural disasters. This study examines the impact of natural resource use on the green economic growth in Malaysia from 1990 to 2021, with a focus on green trade as a key component. To achieve this objective, this study utlizies the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method and also its extension, the Dynamic ARDL (DYNARDL). Estimation results for both model indicate that green trade has a significant long run positive impact on green economic growth. While for short run, only DYNARDL method found evidence for positive impact of green trade. These findings suggest that policymakers should further promote green trade as a means to enhance sustainable and equitable resource use, thereby supporting the growth of the green economy in Malaysia.

Renewable Energy in Nepal: Current State and Future Outlook

Nepal’s energy mix is predominantly based on traditional and inefficient biomass and fossil fuels. As a result, there is a notable prevalence of energy scarcity in the country. Within the literature, there exists a lack of a comprehensive review of the potential of renewable energy in the country while the relatively less contribution of renewable energy resources, making the country more vulnerable to adopt a more carbon-intensive energy policy. Consequently, in this study, we conduct a thorough review of existing literature to provide a comprehensive assessment of the current status of renewable energy and the energy mix in Nepal. We also discussed the potential for the country to transition to a sustainable energy system. This review analysis exclusively focused on scholarly articles and research reports that specifically addressed the topic of renewable energy in Nepal. Despite the rapid decline in the cost of solar photovoltaics, Nepal’s renewable energy share currently stands at only 3.2%. This paper argues that Nepal needs proactive and favorable strategies and policies to effectively implement clean energy, based on the given premises and the country’s aspirations for sustainable energy. This involves a substantial amount of solar power production combined with battery storage, supplemented by storage methods such as off-river pumping hydropower technology. The study emphasizes the significance of renewable energy in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This review also emphasizes the obstacles in the advancement of Nepal’s renewable energy industry and offers suitable policy suggestions to address these obstacles, hence facilitating a sustainable shift in energy.

High acetone soluble organosolv lignin extraction and its application towards green antifouling and wear-resistant coating

Marine fouling poses significant challenges to the efficiency and longevity of marine engineering equipment. To address this issue, developing effective marine antifouling coatings is critical to ensure the economic viability, environmental sustainability, and safety of offshore operations. In this study, we developed an innovative green antifouling and wear-resistant coating based on lignin, a renewable and sustainable resource. Lignin is considered environmentally friendly because it is abundant, biodegradable, and reduces reliance on petroleum-based materials. The coating was formulated with a controlled hydrophilic-to-hydrophobic ratio of 2:8, leveraging lignin's unique properties. Applying lignin increased the water contact angle by 14.5 %, improving surface hydrophobicity and contributing to the coating's antifouling efficacy. Moreover, the mechanical strength of the coating was enhanced by approximately 200 %, significantly boosting its durability in harsh marine environments. Additionally, the friction coefficient was reduced by about 85 %, further preventing organism adhesion. These results demonstrate that lignin-based coatings offer a greener alternative to traditional antifouling solutions. The results of this study not only help advance antifouling coating technology but are also consistent with the broader goal of promoting environmental responsibility in marine engineering practice.

Interfacial engineering to create ionically bonded heterostructures for ampere-level chlorine-free anodic reactions in seawater

Production of hydrogen directly from seawater can be a sustainable method; however, corrosive and competitive chlorine chemistry at the anode interfere with the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Special materials need to be designed to avoid chlorine chemistry; hence, a two-dimensional metal-organic framework@WO3.B2O3 (MOF@WB) heterostructure with ionic bonds was engineered, which can deliver ~10x better performance and is ~65% more economical than commercial IrO2 for OER. Our system is stable in alkaline seawater for over 1000h without chlorine evolution and remains functional even after sitting idle for 5 days, making it integrable with renewable power sources. The catalyst also operated stably at the industrial-scale current density of 1.58Acm-2 for over 100h with 99% performance retention in alkaline seawater. Theoretical calculations reveal that B assists in the adsorption of the MOF on the WO3 substrate via the creation of ionic bonds, resulting in optimized surface geometries for selective reactions, which safeguard against chlorine chemistry. B2O3 helps modulate the B-OH sites at the interface via B-O-B bond hydrolysis, activating the OER kinetics, hence providing an ideal platform for effective direct seawater catalysis to produce low-cost hydrogen.

Daytime radiative cooling using pattern free metal dielectric coating

Radiative coolers, which dumps the excess heat to the cold outer space by releasing the thermal radiation through the atmospheric window, have offered an alternate and feasible solution to the conventional coolers that are fueled on the electricity produced by either using renewal or non-renewal sources like fossil fuels. Particularly, daytime passive radiative coolers have paved the way for many energy free technology that are used in reducing the temperature of building tops, power plants, and water harvesting. In this, we propose a pattern free and large area scalable bi-layered thin film based daytime radiative cooler. The proposed design illustrates an average reflectivity of 98.5% for the solar spectrum, while showing average emittance of 91% within the atmospheric window (8-13μm). The design consists of thin films of transparent dielectrics such as ZnS or BaF2 placed on top of a thick glass substrate, that is backed by a thin film silver. We theoretically obtained a cooling power of 119 W.m−2 with a temperature reduction of 9 °C below the ambient.

Polymers marry with carbon nanospheres: A promising strategy to develop high-performance filtrate reducer

Polymeric filtrate reducers have limited uses under high temperature and salinity conditions. The incorporation of nanoparticles to polymeric networks is a popular and effective method for creating high-performance filtrate reducers. However, present nanofillers are costly, have negative environmental consequences, and are difficult or impossible to disseminate. Herein, a simple hydrothermal process using low-cost and renewable glucose as raw ingredients resulted in hydroxy-rich carbon nanospheres (CNs). After modification by acryloyl chloride, the CNs were copolymerized with acrylamide, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid, and sodium p-styrene sulfonate. The obtained CNs-doped polymers (CAAS) were able to maintain high viscosity and colloidal stability even after salt contamination and high temperature aging. CAAS-based drilling fluids can tolerate temperatures of up to 240 °C under 30% NaCl conditions. The API filtration loss (FLAPI) and the high-temperature high-pressure filtration loss (FLHTHP) were 10 and 63.5mL, respectively. Considering the low-cost and renewable raw materials, high dispersibility and high compatibility of CNs as well as significant improvement in thermal-resistance and salt-tolerance, this work provides a simple yet effective approach to developing high-performance filtrate reducers for complex geological conditions.

Surface Wettability of Lignin Materials from Supercritical Water Hydrolysis of Wood

To meet the demands of the evolving circular economy, there is a growing need for renewable resources as base materials for innovative, easily recyclable products. Lignin, the second most abundant biopolymer, has emerged as a promising source of aromatics and reinforcing agent in polymer composites. For the successful manufacturing of homogeneous composite materials, good bonding between the coexisting phases is essential to prevent the formation of voids and agglomerates. Therefore, understanding the surface properties of these materials is crucial for designing optimal composite compounds. In this study, the wettability of lignin-cellulose composites and lignin samples obtained through supercritical water hydrolysis (SCWH) of birch wood is investigated. The contact angle (CA) technique, specifically the sessile drop method, was employed to assess and compare the wettability of SCWH lignin with commercially available lignin and raw birch wood. The results provide insights into their surface energy, adhesion, and hydrophilic or hydrophobic characteristics under processing conditions. All samples exhibited hydrophilicity, with an initial CA approximately 40 °, except for raw birch wood, which had a higher initial CA of ~ 64°. Notably, when lignin is accompanied by significant amounts of cellulose, different trends in CA changes over time were observed. The influence of pressure on the CA between water and these polymers was also analyzed, but no significant impact was detected. This research advances the development of lignin-based materials with tailored surface properties for various industrial applications.

Development of Luminescent and Photosensitive Cellulose Microfibers From Palm Sprout Fibers: Antibacterial Efficacy and Dye Adsorption Potential.

A key contemporary challenge is enhancing the value of agro-industrial byproducts. Cellulose, the most abundant renewable resource, offers significant industrial potential due to its versatile properties. Produced in its pure form by various bacteria, cellulose is increasingly utilized in microscale and nanoscale fibers for composite reinforcement. In this study, cellulose microfibers were derived from palm sprout fibers through a series of treatments like pretreatment, high-pressure hydrolysis in an autoclave, and bleaching. These fibers were then characterized using techniques such as UV spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, and XRD. The study evaluated the antibacterial properties of the treated cellulose microfibers against both gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (07%) and gram-negative Escherichia coli (10%), finding higher effectiveness against E.coli. Additionally, the microfibers exhibited a lower EC50 value of 0.101 mg/mL, suggesting that although the microfiber extract is effective, the standard antioxidant is somewhat more potent. Adsorption studies revealed that the cellulose microfibers followed the Langmuir isotherm model, with a high determination coefficient of 0.998, and reached maximum dye adsorption for RB 160 within 120 min. In this adsorption study, 50 mg of dye was removed. These results indicate that the treated cellulose microfibers are a promising biosorbent for improving dye removal processes.

Development of a Large-Scale Integrated Solar-Biomass Thermal Facility for Green Production of Useful Outputs

The present paper develops a new multigeneration plant to produce multiple commodities from two combined renewable energy sources, solar thermal and biomass and considers a specific case study administered for the city of Al Lith in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The plant generates power, heating, refrigeration, hydrogen, chlorine, concentrated sodium hydroxide, ammonia, urea, and fresh water, which are commodities at high demand in the area. The energy efficiency is determined to be 53% with an annual generation of over 1036 GWh of power and cogenerated 858 GWh of heating, nearly 23 GWh of refrigeration effect, over 11,300 tons of ammonia, almost 1800 tons of urea, over 113,000 tons of concentrated sodium hydroxide and over 905,000 m3 of fresh water. The exergy contents of heating, refrigeration, power and commodity products represent a total of 45% of the sources, which leads to a multigeneration platform's exergy efficiency. The system includes an integrated biomass gasification combined cycle with a biomass oxy-gasifier. The Aspen Plus simulations of the oxy-gasifier determined that the oxygen-to-biomass weight fraction should be set to 0.15, whereas the steam-to-biomass weight fraction is around 0.1. The exhaust gas recirculation is applied to enhance power generation rate and efficiency. The recirculation ratio of exhaust gas is found to be 0.21 if power generation efficiency is to be maximized and 0.28 if the power generation rate is to be maximized. The fluctuating and intermittent nature of the solar energy resource causes poor economics when this energy is to be captured in isolation or itself only. The current paper demonstrates that the hybridization of solar and biomass energy together with integrated processes for multiproduct generation enhances the overall competitivity of the renewable energy system. To address this aspect, the objective of the paper is to develop and assess a new integrated flowsheet for hybrid renewable resource multigeneration.

High-viscoelasticity alginate-based coatings for reversible zinc metal anodes

High-safety aqueous zinc (Zn) ion batteries are troubled by dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution reaction on Zn anode, which can be well solved via the construction of surface protective layer. The recent researches mainly focus on the bulk property of the protective layer, but its separation from Zn anode is ignored. In this work, high-viscoelasticity alginate-based (HVAA) layer was in-situ constructed on Zn anodes by the cross-linking of sodium alginate with formaldehyde and the plastifying of glycerin. HVAA layer can combine with H2O and coordinate with Zn2+ ions in aqueous electrolyte to achieve viscoelasticity on Zn anode, which can accommodate volume change of Zn anode during plating/stripping processes to continuously protect Zn anodes under the real battery system. Physical block effect of HVAA layer impedes hydrogen evolution corrosion reaction by avoiding the immediate contact of Zn anodes with aqueous electrolyte. Ionic conductive ability of HVAA layer by coordinating oxygen-containing groups with Zn2+ can uniform ion flux to induce the homogeneous deposition of Zn2+ on Zn anode. Zn anode with HVAA endows ZnZn symmetric battery with stably cycle of 4000 h and Zn-iodide full batteries with better electrochemical performance of 8000 cycles comparing with bare Zn anode. This work opens a novel route to continuously protect Zn anode through the high-viscoelasticity films to closely fit with Zn surface and implement the high-value application of renewable sources.

Towards a Standardized LCOE Calculation for Informed Decision-Making in Energy Policy and Investment: Application to the Colombian Context

The Levelized cost of electricity - LCOE represents a constant cost per unit of generated electrical energy, resulting from the analysis of the total costs throughout the life cycle of a generation plant. Its widespread use, thanks to its simplicity of calculation and potential of standardization, has made it one of the primary criteria for comparing electricity generation technologies. However, in the pursuit of simplification and generalization, certain aspects associated with the socioeconomic context of the region, as well as accounting and financial concepts, are excluded due to externalities or incentives related to regulatory and fiscal policies. These exclusions affect the accuracy of LCOE and introduce uncertainty when using it as a criterion for investment decision-making or allocation of public resources for the development of renewable sources. This article proposes a clear and standardized methodology for calculating LCOE, which allows for a fair and precise comparison of renewable energy generation options in rural areas. It contributes to informed and transparent decision-making in the fields of energy policy and public investment for expanding electricity service coverage. The proposed methodology is based on the financial cash flow matrix to address variability sources in the calculation, considering the local context of the generation project.

Evaluating the role of prosumers in providing energy systems with flexibility products

AbstractIncreasing the penetration of renewables on the demand side causes operational challenges in distribution grids due to their variable and uncertain behaviour. These resources have increased distribution grid net load fluctuation during recent years, which needs to be covered by demand side flexibility (DSF). DSF should be quantified and measured by a suitable index to show the level of a system DSF in different situations. In this paper, the flexibility area index of distribution systems as a suitable metric for prosumers’ DSF evaluation, especially in the presence of renewable sources, is calculated. This index is defined first for one prosumer and then extended to a distribution system by a combination of prosumer indices. The mentioned index is decomposed into two components, one for ramp‐up (negative flexibility) and another for ramp‐down (positive flexibility). To calculate and manage prosumers’ flexibility, a novel flexibility‐oriented stochastic framework for prosumers is suggested. The amount of load shedding is under control by the risk‐management strategy in the proposed framework, which can facilitate distribution system operator operation. The results obtained from the implementation of the case study validate the major features of the proposed framework more efficiently.

Optimization of PV benefits for Electric Vehicles Charging Station Using a Deterministic Method and Fuzzy Inference System Method

Utilizing renewable energy, specifically Photovoltaic (PV), for Electric Vehicle (EV) charging presents diverse technical and economic opportunities, reflecting a recent trend in innovation and research to address global transportation challenges while highlighting the value of renewable sources. In this context, this paper aims to devise an optimal power management strategy for an EV charging station powered by a PV-based microgrid (MG). The main purpose is to improve the benefits of PV production in recharging EVs to increase self-consumption, decrease dependency on the power grid, and reduce energy costs. Production data from a real-scale MG at the Catholic University in France were used as a case study. This MG comprises a heterogeneous fleet of EVs, PV sources, stationary storage, EV charging stations, and a connection to the power grid. The optimization of PV benefits relies on leveraging the knowledge of EV characteristics to modulate their charge profile. In this context, two methods are used and compared for the modulation of the EVs' charging profile: a deterministic method and a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS)-based method. For each method, different scenarios emerge based on the knowledge or lack thereof of the EVs' characteristics. This methodology permits the optimal distribution of energy among multiple EVs and regulates the necessary power to achieve the desired charge level upon departure. It encourages charging through PV production, resulting in reduced energy costs. The comparison of total costs reveals notable differences between the deterministic and FIS approaches for both slow and fast charging modes. In the case of slow charging, the deterministic approach achieves savings of -863.4 c€/day, whereas the FIS method delivers greater savings of -898.7 c€/day. For fast charging, the deterministic approach yields savings of -524.6 c€/day, while the FIS method results in even higher savings of -540.7 c€/day. These results highlight that the FIS approach enables better cost management, primarily due to more efficient utilization of PV energy. Additionally, simulation results from MATLAB/Simulink confirm the effectiveness of the FIS-based method, which improves PV energy utilization to 98.20%, compared to 81.60% with the deterministic approach. This highlights the superior efficiency of the proposed FIS.

Furan-based renewable elastomers as effective tougheners for PLA: Enhanced mechanical properties and water vapor barrier properties

There is a great need for versatile biomass additives sourced from renewable materials to enhance the performance of polylactic acid (PLA) composites. This study introduces a furan-based polyester elastomer called PNF-PBC that is designed to improve the mechanical and water vapor barrier characteristics of PLA. By incorporating PNF-PBC into PLA, the toughness of the PLA/PNF-PBC biocomposites was considerably enhanced through various intermolecular interactions. A 15 wt% PNF-PBC blend with PLA exhibited a 13.6-fold increase in elongation at break, while having a negligible impact on tensile strength. Furthermore, the water vapor barrier performance of PLA/PNF-PBC biocomposites was greatly boosted by a factor of 10 compared to pure PLA, making them highly suitable for food packaging materials. With its versatile properties, we anticipate that this bio-based PLA/PNF-PBC material will significantly expand the range of applications for PLA composites.

Investigating the Impact of Cloud Computing on Environmental Sustainability

Abstract: It discusses the effects of cloud computing on the environmental aspect of sustainability by focusing specifically on carbon emission reduction, cost-cutting, and exploiting renewable sources of energy. Using only hypothetical data obtained from TechCorp Solutions, Global Data Inc., InnovaTech Ltd., and NextGen Systems, this paper reveals strong decreases in energy usage - between 38.89 percent to 45 percent in cost savings following the implementation of cloud computing. The study also records remarkable carbon emission reductions. The cuts in drops range between 42.86% and 45%. Not only this, but on implementation, every firm asserted a flat rate cut of 40% in operating costs. The second investment area the research probes is the commitment of the major cloud providers to renewable energy sources. It finds some using up to 100% from renewable sources. Cloud data centers are much more efficient than traditional data centers, as the PUE comparison indicates, and hence produce maximum energy efficiency with the least negative impact on the environment. The results represent important implications regarding cloud computing in light of sustainability goals and revenue generation. This implies that cloud technology will be used much more widely within various industries going forward.

Injection-molded thermoplastic cassava starch modified with single and mixed polyol plasticizers

Increasing interest in biodegradable and cost-effective materials derived from renewable resources has led to the development of injection-moldable thermoplastic starch (TPS). Plasticizers constitute an indispensable additive for manufacturing TPS, influencing both its thermomechanical processability and performance. The aim of the current work is thus to study the effect of single and mixed polyol plasticizers on the performance of injection-molded TPS. This study was carried out by using three types of polyols – glycerol, xylitol, and sorbitol– as single and equal-weight binary mixed plasticizers to modify cassava starch via extrusion. The resulting TPS extrudates were converted to test specimens via injection molding. Melt flow index, moisture content, water contact angle, and tensile and dynamic mechanical thermal properties of the materials were examined. In addition, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis were also conducted. The results show that the higher-molecular-weight polyols (xylitol and sorbitol) exhibited lower plasticizing efficiency but formed denser hydrogen-bonding interactions with starch molecules than the smaller-molecular-weight one (glycerol). In both single and mixed plasticizer systems, increasing the molecular weight of the polyol plasticizer led to enhancements of the tensile strength (up to 27 MPa (200 % increment) and 26 MPa (115 % increment) for single and mixed plasticizer systems, respectively), Young's modulus (up to 386 MPa (240 % increment) and 458 MPa (185 % increment) for single and mixed plasticizer systems, respectively), decomposition temperature (2–3 °C), and glass transition temperature (30–50 °C) of TPS and a reduction in its moisture content (60–80 %) and surface stickiness, though disadvantages included poorer thermomechanical processability and higher melt viscosity and brittleness. In conclusion, using a co-plasticizer of glycerol and xylitol is appropriate for injection-molded TPS articles considering both processability and performance. The obtained TPS has potential applications in edible or single-use biodegradable rigid products, such as pet chew toys, chopsticks, cutlery, plant pots, etc.

Transforming Lignocellulosic Biomass into Biofuels: Recent Innovations in Pretreatment and Bioconversion Techniques

Abstract: This scholarly review investigates contemporary advancements in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels, emphasizing innovative pretreatment and bioconversion technologies that aim to surmount the intrinsic challenges associated with the processing of this complex biomass. Lignocellulosic materials, which are predominantly comprised of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, represent a renewable and plentiful source for biofuel production; however, their structural complexity necessitates sophisticated methodologies for the effective degradation of resistant components. The review scrutinizes a variety of pretreatment methodologies, encompassing physical, chemical, and burgeoning techniques such as plasma-assisted processing, which are engineered to augment cellulose accessibility for enzymatic hydrolysis. Additionally, it elucidates the progress made in bioconversion processes, concentrating on enzymatic hydrolysis, microbial fermentation, and consolidated bioprocessing (CBP), wherein recent endeavors in genetic engineering are refining microbial strains to enhance yield and efficiency. By addressing economic, technological, and environmental challenges, this article emphasizes the role of integrated biorefineries and innovative biotechnologies in facilitating scalable and cost-effective production of lignocellulosic biofuels. Prospective research trajectories include the formulation of sustainable pretreatment techniques and the advancement of synthetic biology to fully harness the potential of lignocellulosic biomass as a renewable energy resource. Ultimately, this review accentuates the significance of lignocellulosic biofuels as a feasible alternative to fossil fuels, thereby contributing to energy sustainability and climate change mitigation through diminished carbon emissions

Synthesis of nanochitosan from oyster pearl shell (Pinctada maxima) as renewable energy candidate

The increase in energy needs must be balanced by environmentally friendly technological innovations. Chitosan polymer is one of the technological innovations of energy materials that are being developed by many developed countries. This research aimed to identify the potential of oyster pearl shell waste as a source of electrolyte polymers. The study was conducted experimentally by synthesizing chitosan nanoparticles from chitosan using the ionic gelation method. Chitosan is obtained through the isolation method from Pinctada maxima oyster pearl shell waste. The isolation method is carried out by three processes: deproteination, demineralization, and deacetylation. Several characterizations were carried out to analyze the material from the synthesis, including a proximate test, FTIR analysis, and PSA analysis. Isolated chitosan was identified to have a deacetylation degree that reached 88.63% with the formation of OH and NH2 functional groups. In general, the proximate tets data has shown that the obtained chitosan already meets the Indonesian standard SNI 7949:2013. PSA analysis resulted in differences in size distribution, PDI, and zeta potential between chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles. The results were obtained by the average distribution of chitosan particle size of 52.043 μm and chitosan nanoparticle size of 2.3365 μm—the analysis of the potential zeta of chitosan -3.9 mV and chitosan nanoparticle -21,6 mV. Thus, changes in the size of the chitosan material affect its potential PDI and zeta values. The change of these two values is a good indicator of the initial data and the potential of the material as an energy material. Therefore, chitosan polymer is an electrolyte material that can be used as a candidate for environmentally friendly renewable energy materials

LCA standards for environmental product assessments in the bioeconomy with a focus on biogenic carbon: A systematic review

Abstract Purpose Climate change mitigation is one of the priorities of the European Bioeconomy Strategy (BES). In this regard, renewable raw materials are a crucial resource, as they help to substitute fossil resources and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by storing biogenic carbon (C). To control the environmental impact of the European BES, the life cycle assessment (LCA) is the preferred method. Standards provide guidance for LCA. This review aims to present the state of the art of LCA-related standards, focusing on the assessment of biogenic C and its global warming potential (GWP) to evaluate them for decision-making with regard to the transition to a bioeconomy (BE) and climate change mitigation. Methods A systematic review is conducted using the database Nautos to reveal the relevant standards guiding LCA in the BE. In an iterative process, criteria for a comparative analysis are defined. The eligible standards are then qualitatively analysed and compared based on criteria previously derived in the iterative process. Results and discussion In the context of LCA and bio-based products, 13 documents are identified. Differences are revealed in the accounting of biogenic C flows, the calculation of the duration of biogenic C storage and the biogenic C content as well as the consideration of substitution effects. Furthermore, the standards do not provide any information on the assessment of biogenic C in the circular economy so far. Conclusion The importance of biogenic C aspects in LCA has been reflected in the standards over the last 20 years. However, further research is needed to harmonise the different aspects and integrate new relevant ones related to biogenic C and BE to support decision-making for the transition to a BE. This becomes more important as new legislation refers to LCA standards as the preferred assessment method.