Exploitation Of Renewable Resources Research Articles

Renewable Adoption, Energy Reliance, and CO2 Emissions: A Comparison of Developed and Developing Economies

Emerging economies and ecosystems rely heavily on fossil fuels, and a country’s energy dependence is a strong indicator of its reliance on foreign suppliers. This study investigates the impact of energy dependence on energy intensity, CO2 emission intensity, and the exploitation of renewable resources in 35 developing and 20 developed nations. It also explores the correlation between renewable energy, GDP growth, and CO2 emissions. This study utilizes the Generalized Linear Model (GLM) and the Robust Least Squares (RLS) method to investigate the negative correlation between renewable energy and policymakers in established and emerging economies. It also employs distinctive linear panel estimation techniques spanning from 1970 to 2022. This study examines the impact of renewable energy on economic growth, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions across four continents. Developing countries see an increase in per capita CO2 emissions when their utilization of renewable energy exceeds their capacity. Even with the introduction of several proxies for renewable energy use using changed techniques, this discovery remains valid. Moreover, this is particularly crucial for industrialized nations with well-established institutions. Energy dependency has increased the energy and carbon intensity needed for expansion across all components, which is surprising. The regional study discovered a spillover impact in most regions, indicating that the consequences of energy reliance are similar in neighboring countries. Regional energy exchange unions play a vital role in reducing the adverse environmental and economic impacts of energy dependence, which is essential for the growth of the renewable energy sector and the decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. Undeveloped countries need to enhance their investment in research and development to advance technologically.

Marine Suitability Assessment for Offshore Wind Farms’ Deployment in Thrace, Greece

The exploitation of renewable energy resources is an effective option to respond to climate change challenges. Wind energy can be exploited more efficiently and effectively than any other renewable energy source. By switching from onshore wind energy projects to offshore, the positive aspects of onshore wind energy remain and, at the same time, no valuable onshore area is occupied, while their efficiency (e.g., capacity factor) is increased. Greece has a rich wind potential and the maritime region of Thrace is one of Greece’s maritime regions with the greatest potential for the development of offshore wind energy. The aim of the present paper is to identify the most appropriate sites for the deployment of offshore wind farms in the region of Thrace. The methodology includes (i) the delineation of the study area and the definition of the support structure of the wind turbine, (ii) the identification of seven (7) exclusion and fifteen (15) assessment criteria, (iii) the suitability analysis under five different zoning scenarios (equal weight, environmental, social, techno-economic, and researchers’ subjective), and (iv) the micro siting and qualitative assessment of the most suitable sites based on energy, environmental, social, and economic criteria. The methodology is based on the combined use of Geographical Information Systems (GISs), specifically ArcGIS Desktop version 10.8.1, wind assessment software tools (WaSPs), specifically WaSP version 12.8, and multi-criteria decision-making methods. The results of the paper illustrate that the optimal suitability area that is proposed for offshore wind farm deployment is located at the easternmost end of the Greek part of the Thracian Sea. The planning and the deployment of offshore wind farm projects should follow a holistic and environmentally driven approach to ensure the integrity of all habitats and species affected.

Massive Solar PV Potential in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is facing an energy crisis due to insufficient exploitation of renewable energy resources and high reliance on imported fossil fuels. Building-integrated PV (BIPV) systems are one approach that provides various benefits in countries with limited land areas and congested metropolitan regions for ensuring energy security. This study was conducted to evaluate the rooftop solar PV capacity and yearly electricity generation potential in selected provinces in Sri Lanka. The study found 115 km2 of rooftop area for solar PV installation in four Sri Lankan provinces; Sabaragamuwa, Western, Northern, and North Central with approximately 25 GW of solar PV installation capacity could lead to annual electricity generation of 45 TWh which could reduce carbon emissions by 20 million tCO 2 per year.

A Comprehensive Review of Microgrid Energy Management Strategies Considering Electric Vehicles, Energy Storage Systems, and AI Techniques

The relentlessly depleting fossil-fuel-based energy resources worldwide have forbidden an imminent energy crisis that could severely impact the general population. This dire situation calls for the immediate exploitation of renewable energy resources to redress the balance between power consumption and generation. This manuscript confers about energy management tactics to optimize the methods of power production and consumption. Furthermore, this paper also discusses the solutions to enhance the reliability of the electrical power system. In order to elucidate the enhanced reliability of the electrical system, microgrids consisting of different energy resources, load types, and optimization techniques are comprehensively analyzed to explore the significance of energy management systems (EMSs) and demand response strategies. Subsequently, this paper discusses the role of EMS for the proper consumption of electrical power considering the advent of electric vehicles (EVs) in the energy market. The main reason to integrate EVs is the growing hazards of climate change due to carbon emissions. Moreover, this paper sheds light on the growing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in the technological realm and its incorporation into electrical systems with the notion of strengthening existing smart grid technologies and to handle the uncertainties in load management. This paper also delineates the different methodologies to effectively mitigate the probability of facing cyber-attacks and to make the smart grids invulnerable.

A Comparative Analysis of Sustainable Exploitation of Renewable Resources for Different Information Structures

A Comparative Analysis of Sustainable Exploitation of Renewable Resources for Different Information Structures

Renewable energy and natural resource protection: Unveiling the nexus in developing economies

Natural Resource Protection (NRP) has been on the agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is considered a pathway to sustainable development. The analysis of the determinants of NRP has received the attention of policymakers in framing evidence-based policies and strategies. Renewable energy (RE) is a major contributor to natural resource protection. However, existing studies have provided inconclusive evidence on the role of renewable energy in the NRP. This study primarily focuses on the assessment of how RE influences NRP in 22 developing economies. This study considers the nonlinear association between RE and NRP. Moreover, the role of governance effectiveness, financial technology, urbanization, and FDI in the NRP were also assessed. Furthermore, the analyses also explore the NRP-Kuznets curve by examining the role of economic growth in the NRP. The study, which detected cross-sectional dependence (CSD), heterogeneity, autocorrelation, and heteroskedasticity in the data, uses pooled regression with Driscoll-Kraay Standard Errors (DKSEs) and GLS for the econometric analysis. The results revealed a U-shaped relationship between renewable energy and NRP. Moreover, governance effectiveness, FINTECH, and FDI contribute to NRP, but urbanization has a negative impact on NRP. The analysis concludes an inverted U-shaped association between GDP per capita and NRP. A Bayesian regression analysis was also performed to validate the robustness of the results. Based on these findings, this study makes policy recommendations for improving NRP. Policymakers should prioritize renewable energy and sustainable resource exploitation through incentives and investments. Improving governance, adopting environmental rules, and involving stakeholders are critical. Financial technology can facilitate long-term investment in sustainability. Sustainable urban design should reduce the adverse effects of urbanization. FDI should be aligned with long-term development goals and appropriate resource management. Balancing economic growth with environmental protection requires multifaceted measures that promote green development and resource efficiency. Policy coherence and stakeholder participation are also critical.

Construction of artificial light-harvesting system based on host-guest interactions of sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin and its application in photocatalysis

Light-harvesting systems (LHSs) play an important role in natural photosynthesis for converting light energy into chemical energy, which paves a prospective way for the exploitation of renewable energy resources. In this work, two artificial light-harvesting systems with an efficient energy transfer were constructed successfully in the aqueous media based on sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and curcumin (Cur) through host-guest interactions, in which two different fluorescence dyes, sulforhodamine (SR101) and Nile blue (NiB) were employed as energy acceptors. The obtained artificial LHSs can achieve an efficient energy transfer process from β-CD+Cur to SR101 or NiB with energy transfer efficiencies of up to 16.3% and 15.8%, respectively. The energy harvested by the acceptors (SR101 and NiB) was used for photocatalysis in the aqueous phase dehalogenation of the α-bromoacetophenone reaction with a yield of up to 80%.

Bimetallic MOF-Derived Solar-Triggered Monolithic Adsorbent for Enhanced Atmospheric Water Harvesting.

The development of economical, energy-saving, and efficient metal-organic framework (MOF)-based adsorbents for atmospheric water collection is highly imperative for the rapid advancement of renewable freshwater resource exploitation. Herein, a feasible one-step solvothermal formation strategy of bimetallic MOF (BMOF) is proposed and applied to construct a solar-triggered monolithic adsorbent for enhanced atmospheric water collection. Benefiting from the reorganization and adjustment of topology structure by Al atoms and Fe atoms, the resultant BMOF(3) consisting of Al-fumarate and MIL-88A has a higher specific surface area (1202.99 m2 g-1 ) and pore volume (0.51 cm3 g-1 ), thereby outperforming the parental MOFs and other potential MOFs in absorbing water. Expanding upon this finding, the solar-triggered monolithic adsorbent is further developed through a bottom-up assembly of polyaniline/chitosan layers and hybridized BMOF(3) skeletons on a glass fiber support. The resultant monolithic adsorbent exhibits superior sorption-desorption kinetics, leading to directional water transport and rapid solar-assisted vapor diffusion. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, an exquisite water harvester is constructed to emphasize a high water yield of 1.19 gg-1 per day of the designed monolithic adsorbent. Therefore, the design and validation of bimetallic MOF-derived solar-triggered adsorbent in this work are expected to provide a reference for the large-scale applications of MOF-based atmospheric water harvesting.

Life Cycle Assessment and Cost–Benefit Analysis as Combined Economic–Environmental Assessment Tools: Application to an Anaerobic Digestion Plant

In the present study, using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Cost–Benefit Analysis (CBA), we assess the economic–environmental performance of an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, fed by cultured crops (i.e., maize and wheat), in Italy. The biogas generated by the AD plant is used for the production of electricity, imputed into the Italian energy grid. The LCA evaluated potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, measured via Carbon Footprint (CF), while the CBA analysed the financial and economic profiles via the Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) indicators. The strength of combining these methodologies is the joint examination of the financial and social–environmental performance of the plant. The results of the CBA are complemented with the GHG emissions avoided by producing electricity from biogas. The CF of 0.28 kg CO2eq·kWh−1 of electricity produced is mainly due to the nitrogen fertilizers involved in the production of the additional feedstock matrix (i.e., maize flour). In the CBA, the negative financial NPV and the financial IRR, which is lower than the discount rate applied, highlight the inability of the net revenue to repay the initial investment. Regarding the social desirability, the economic analysis, enriched by the LCA outcomes, shows a positive economic performance, demonstrating that the combination of information from different methodologies enables wider consideration for the anaerobic digestion plant. In line with the Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan’s aim to strongly increase the exploitation of renewable resources, an AD plant fed by dedicated crops could valorise the marginal uncultivated land, obtaining energy without consuming land for food production. Moreover, this AD plant could contribute to the creation of repeatable small-scale energy production systems able to sustain the demand of local communities.

Agroforest woody residual biomass-to-energy supply chain analysis: Feasible and sustainable renewable resource exploitation for an alternative to fossil fuels

Agroforest woody residual biomass can play an essential role in the decarbonization of energy production and in meeting the targets imposed for carbon neutrality. However, due to the constraints caused by some intrinsic characteristics, such as its low density, low calorific value, high heterogeneity and territorial dispersion, its management hampers in the collection and transport processes for recovery. In this article, the supply chain associated with the energy recovery of agroforestry woody residual biomass is analyzed to clarify the positive and negative points affecting the viability and feasibility of energy recovery projects. For this purpose, a PEST and a SWOT analysis were carried out. It was identified that the main constraints are related with the economic aspects, which are directly depending on the optimization of the entire supply chain, from the cutting operations, passing through the intermediate tasks (which may or may not add value), and transport to the final destination for energy recovery.

Can Industry Counteract the Ecological Crisis? An Approach for the Development of a New Circular Bioeconomic Model Based on Biocomposite Materials

The ecological crisis we are facing, in addition to depleting non-renewable raw materials, has driven the emergence of biocomposite (BC) materials as a sustainable alternative that can create new opportunities for industrial product design and development. The use of biological resources in economic processes, as the bioeconomic (BE) model proposes, can lead to a transformation from the traditional linear extractive production logic to a new productive paradigm. This paper analyses technical and scientific information on the valorisation of agri-food waste to which innovative and efficient techniques and technologies have been applied, resulting in natural resource use in new products. Our review aims to explore and assess the production, development and industrial exploitation of renewable biological resources as a way to bridge the transition from the linear economic model to a circular bioeconomy (CBE) paradigm shift. For a detailed exploration and assessment of the research problem, this paper presents a comparative study between two paradigmatic projects organised and financed by different R&D programmes of the European Union (EU). We identify the agents and strategies of a potential BC innovation system, and we propose a conceptual model for the creation of an innovative and alternative industrial-scale productive value chain to replace petrochemical-based composite materials with BC and establish a new paradigm of production and consumption.

Drivers, Enablers, Barriers and Technologies (DEBT) For Low-Energy Public Housing Delivery in Nigeria

Nigeria, as a developing country, has vast and varied energy resources, both renewable and non-renewable. In spite of these resources, an estimated 75% of her population of close to 200 million faces serious energy poverty problems due to shortfalls in energy supply compared to its energy demand. Consequently, a large portion of the population lives without access to adequate electricity. Hence, the country encounters unprecedented struggles with incessant power outages, unemployment, a low human development index (HDI), and poverty. This paper examines the drivers, enablers, barriers, and technological considerations for low-energy integration in the provision of housing for Nigeria's huge population. The objective is to harness the varied energy resources to aid in the delivery of environmentally friendly and sustainable housing in a developing economy such as Nigeria. This is critical in light of rising energy costs, environmental degradation, global warming, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy consumption. Reduced energy use in housing is highlighted as a critical issue in environmental management. The paper highlighted several factors that need to be appropriately addressed for a paradigm shift to low-energy integration to achieve sustainable housing delivery in Nigeria. It recommends the application of energy conservation measures in mass housing construction, the full exploitation and promotion of renewable energy resources, and energy efficiency practices in housing provision, among others. The paper concludes that these should be given adequate attention during planning, designing, and delivering sustainable housing.

Isolation of Lactococcus sp. X1 from Termite Gut, and Its Application in Lactic Acid Production

The production of lactic acid (LA) from lignocellulosic biomass is an important route for the exploitation of renewable resources; nevertheless, effective LA production from this feedstock is challenged by several limitations, such as pentose and oligosaccharide utilization. In this study, a new strain, Lactococcus sp. X1, which is capable of fermenting glucose, xylose, and several disaccharides to produce L-lactic acid, was isolated from the gut of a wood-feeding termite, Coptotermes formosanus. Compared to conventional lactic acid bacteria, Lactococcus sp. X1 requires less complex nitrogen sources, which might in turn reduce the cost of LA production. In addition, Lactococcus sp. X1 was able to completely ferment 50 g/L of glucose within 3 days, giving a high LA yield of 99.9%, and its LA yield from 50 g/L of pretreated corncob reached up to 0.34 g/g substrates in the presence of a commercial cellulase. Strain X1 was also capable of excreting two kinds of nutritional factors, namely biotin and vitamin C, indicating its crucial role in the nourishment of the termite. In conclusion, Lactococcus sp. X1 is a new lactic acid bacterium, which may hold promise for application in cost-effective LA production as well as in the field of food additives.

A comparative analysis of sustainable exploitation of renewable resources for different information structures

In this paper, a brief description of the authors' concept of sustainable management is given. According to the proposed concept, the sustainable development of an active system means that in the same time some requirements of viability of the system are satisfied, and the interests of the active agents are considered and coordinated. The main emphasis is made on two mathematical examples. First, a relation between egoistic and altruistic evolutionary strategies is studied by means of the Verhulst-Pearl model. Second, selfish and cooperative behavior of the users of a renewable resource is compared on the base of a differential game model. The conditions of viability are formalized as phase constraints. Their satisfaction may be a result of the voluntary coordination of the agents or their enforced coordination provided by a specially introduced principal. The main contribution of the paper consists in the comparative analysis of these ways of sustainable management.

Thermodynamic performance optimization and environmental analysis of a solid oxide fuel cell powered with biomass energy and excess hydrogen injection

Recently the energy systems' developers focused on the efficient exploitation of renewable resources and novel technologies to decrease fossil fuel consumption and environmental damage. The SOFC units are known in this regard as high-efficiency and versatile fuel-driven systems, for which the biofuel from biomass gasification is an abundant and clean fuel source. The current article investigates a biomass-driven SOFC that is hybridized with wind turbines in order to increase the hydrogen concentration of intake fuel. To do so, the generated electricity by wind turbines is given to a polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzer for hydrogen generation and injection into the SOFC. Feasibility studies of the proposed framework are conducted based on thermodynamic laws, and its performance enhancement is appraised using three exergy-based environmental indices. A parametric study is carried out to indicate the influence of operating variables on system performance in terms of power output, exergy efficiency, and environmental indices, after which a multi-objective optimization is implemented. The results indicated significant efficiency enhancement of biomass-driven SOFC via integration with wind turbines for hydrogen injection. It is found that more power from wind turbines leads to more hydrogen input to the SOFC and increases net power as well as efficiency. Increasing the fuel utilization factor for the basic structure and the structure with HI, the exergetic efficiency decreases by 5% and 4%, respectively. Under optimal point, the overall system's environmental damage factor and net output power are found to be 0.0092 kW and 322 kW, respectively.

Optimal Sharing Electricity and Thermal Energy Integration for an Energy Community in the Perspective of 100% RES Scenario

This paper presents a study on the optimal district integration of a distributed generation (DG) system for an energy community (EC) and the implementation of sharing electricity (SE) between users. In recent years, the scientific community has frequently discussed potential pathways to achieve a 100% renewable energy source (RES) scenario, mainly through increasing electrification in all sectors. However, cooling-, heat-, and power-related technologies are expected to play a crucial role in the transition to a 100% RES scenario. For this reason, a research gap has been identified when it comes to an optimal SE solution and its effects on the optimal district heating and cooling network (DHCN) allowing both electrical and thermal integration among users. The considered system includes several components for each EC user, with a central unit and a DHCN connecting them all. Moreover, the users inside the EC can exchange electricity with each other through the existing electric grid. Furthermore, the EC considers cooling storage as well as heat storage systems. This paper applies the Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) methodology for the single-objective optimization of an EC, in Northeast Italy, considering the total annual cost for owning, operating, and maintaining the entire system as the economic objective function. After the optimization, the total annual CO2 emissions were calculated to evaluate the environmental effects of the different solutions. The energy system is optimized in different scenarios, considering the usage of renewable resources and different prices for the purchase of electricity and natural gas, as well as different prices for selling electricity. Results showed that, without changing utility prices, the implementation of SE allowed for a reduction of 85% in the total electricity bought from the grid by the EC. Moreover, the total annual EC costs and CO2 emissions were reduced by 80 k€ and 280 t, respectively.

An Efficient High-Frequency Discrete Controller for Solar Powered Boost Converter

In this paper, Delta operator based Discrete Sliding Mode Fuzzy Control (Delta-DSMFC) strategy is introduced for solar powered boost converter so that the output tracks the reference even at high-frequency. Furthermost methods realized to find MPPT have some disadvantage like the fluctuation around the operating point. Therefore, there is a requirement to obtain maximum solar energy by tracking the maximum power point robustly. This paper proposes a discrete control technique that is implemented to boost converter in order to overcome this problem. It is well established that the Discrete Sliding Mode Controller could be successfully used to control output voltage of the DC-DC converters where the system response is slow and introduces chattering problem. However, there may be a possibility of loss of information during fast sampling. In order to address the performance issue and avoid the loss of information when operating under high frequency, delta operator has been introduced. With the use of this operator, which has distinct mathematical property, the response of the converter is improved even at faster sampling rate. One more advantage of using delta operator is that it can convert analog signal to digital and vice-versa at high efficiency. The chattering problem is overcome by the introduction of fuzzy controller to tune the gain. Overall benefit of using this control technique is that it improves the overall efficiency by reducing the ripple current and improving rise time of the system. With the usage of renewable resource, the system is economical.

Proposing a chemometric Normalized Difference Phyllodulcin Index (cNDPI) for phyllodulcin synthesis estimation

The assessment and evaluation of plant traits is a key factor in development of plant based products and exploitation of renewable resources. In this context, phyllodulcin (PD) and its precursor hydrangenol (HG), both dihydroisocoumarins (DHC) only present in Hydrangea macrophylla subsp. serrata (also known as H. serrata (Thunb.) Ser.), are of interest for food industry and medicine. Besides PD content and plant growth, the efficient conversion of PD from HG is an important factor in plant selection. For this a chemometric Normalized Difference Phyllodulcin Index (cNDPI) is proposed as a reliable descriptor for PD biosynthesis efficiency from HG. The cNDPI was tested for robustness and resilience over the course of 1291 measurements in 12 experiments using the H. macrophylla subsp. serrata cultivars ‘Amagi Amacha’, ‘Oamacha’ and ‘Odoriko Amacha’. The cNDPI significantly differentiates these three cultivars with an accuracy of 94.4%. Observations on an F1 population from a cross ‘Odoriko Amacha’ x ‘Yae Amacha’ reveal that cNDPI values are stable over different environments and are not affected by absolute HG or PD contents which are mainly genetically determined. In conclusion, the cNDPI provides a simple tool for quantification of the HG into PD conversion, regardless of absolute DHC amounts or environmental effects. The cNDPI could be used to evaluate efficiency of PD conversion in tea-hortensias.

Assessing Asian Economies Renewable Energy Consumption Efficiency Using DEA with Undesirable Output

Along with vast non-fossil potential and significant expertise, there is a question of whether Asian nations are attaining efficient consumption and exploitation of renewable resources. From this perspective, the paper aims to evaluate the efficiency of 14 potential Asia countries in renewable energy consumption during the six-year periods (2014–2019). In analyzing the performance of the renewable energy sector, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) with an undesirable output model approach has been widely utilized to measure the efficiency of peer units compared with the best practice frontier. We consider four inputs and two outputs to a DEA-based efficiency model. Labor force, total energy consumption, share of renewable energy, and total renewable energy capacity are inputs. The outputs consist of CO2 emissions as an undesirable output and gross domestic product as a desirable output. The results show that United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and South Korea consistently outperform in the evaluation, achieving perfect efficiency scores during the research period. Uzbekistan is found to have the lowest average efficiency of renewable energy utilization.

Implementation of Green Technology in Yacht Boat Propulsion System (Solar Energy)

Renewable energy sources have gotten more attention recently as a result of more people doing research into them. Scientists are increasing the exploitation of renewable energy resources across the board as a substitute for fossil-fuel-based technologies due to concerns about future petroleum depletion. Because ships are a vital mode of transportation, diesel oil is required to power their engines and generators, which provide electricity to ships and planes alike. In the past, renewable solar energy was considered the best choice. This is a substitute for fuel in ships that uses it. A solar-powered boat will be developed using the latest solar energy research presented in this paper. The best boat for utilizing solar power while underway is a catamaran. A yacht design with a flat top that allows for the installation of solar panels or photovoltaic (PV) modules. It's only been possible to make a mini prototype of this catamaran due to budget and other constraints. As a whole, it's expected to better inform the public about the advantages of solar energy generated from renewable natural resources and to save on ship operation costs as well.