Sustainable Development Of Energy, Water And Environment Systems Research Articles

Hot Topics at the 18th SDEWES Conference in 2023: A Conference Report

The present paper reviews the hot topics at the 18th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water, and Environment Systems (SDEWES) held from 24 to 29 September 2023 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The selected papers, including aspects of biomass energy application, energy saving in building, low-carbon development and climate change adaptation, hybrid application of sustainable energy, energy storage system, and other measures in sustainable development, are published in this Special Issue of Energies. The 12 selected papers in Energies and corresponding literature that relates to the above topics and has been published in the most recent year are reviewed. In particular, diversifying energy applications are trending towards comprehensive integration with more efficient clean energy capacities for global energy procurement, which can also offer increased resilience and sustainability, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, mitigate environmental impacts, and enhance energy security through a mix of renewable sources and innovative technologies. Meanwhile, energy storage has become increasingly important, which can manage the intermittent of renewable energy, stabilize the grid, and improve energy security and resilience against disruptions. In addition to conventional solar energy storage, biomass energy storage, building energy storage, water storage, etc., can also reduce the overall energy costs, deferring investments in additional transmission infrastructure.

Clean energy technologies and energy systems for industry and power generation: Current state, recent progress and way forward

This vision article accompanies a Special Issue of Applied Thermal Engineering dedicated to the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) conference series held during 2022, including the 5th SEE SDEWES Conference Vlore, 3rd LA SDEWES Conference Sao Paulo, and 17th SDEWES Conference Paphos. The article discusses a selection of papers presented at these conferences and selected for publication in Applied Thermal Engineering, all connected by a focus on clean energy technologies and systems for the advancement of sustainable thermal energy systems. This research area covers a wide range of technologies but is primarily focused on the power generation sector, energy storage and utilization, efficiency improvements, sustainable technical solutions, and the facilitation of the robust integration of renewable energy resources into wider energy systems. Additional work on previously established research topics is also present, but new directions have crystallized, especially research into thermal management for power devices and microelectronics. Based on the recent contributions to the research field presented in the included papers, this vision article discusses the development and application of cutting-edge technological solutions and identifies the challenges that require focused attention. Current shortcomings of developing and established technologies will be developed by the underlying fundamental research, reduction of prohibitively high costs, expansion of operating conditions, and the inclusion of advanced control approaches, sophisticated combinations of renewable energy sources, and modeling tools for system investigations. Scientists, researchers, and engineers can benefit from the summary of the topics at the forefront of the research field and find guidelines and ways forward for future research activities.

Review of Hot Topics in the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water, and Environment Systems Conference in 2022

The current applications in the energy sector are based largely on fossil fuels which release greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. To face the issue of global warming, the energy sector has to transfer to and develop sustainable energy solutions that do not release carbon emissions. This is one of the primary motivators for the SDEWES conference as well as for this review, and previous ones, examining the most recent works based on sustainable and green energy production in such fields. The 17th Conference on the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water, and Environment Systems (SDEWES) was held on 6–10 November 2022 in Paphos, Cyprus. The SDEWES conference aims at solving complex and ongoing concerns that approach a long-term perspective and supporting innovative solutions and continuous monitoring and evaluation. This review paper aims at collecting the main presented papers focused on the following hot topics: low-carbon technologies based on renewable and clean-energy systems, including mainly biomass, solar, and wind energy applications; energy storage systems; hydrogen-based systems; energy-saving strategies in buildings; and the adoption of smart management strategies using renewable energy systems. These topics are investigated in order to propose solutions to address the issues of climate change, water scarcity, and energy saving. From the analyzed works, we note that some key issues for sustainable development remain to be further addressed: such as novel and advanced energy storage systems, green hydrogen production, novel low-temperature district heating and cooling networks, novel solar technologies for the simultaneous production of power and high temperature heat, solar desalination for hydrogen production systems, and agrivoltaic systems for the production of power and food.

Innovation and advancement of thermal processes for the production, storage, utilization and conservation of energy in sustainable engineering applications

This vision article accompanies a special issue of Applied Thermal Engineering dedicated to the 16th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) held in Dubrovnik in 2021, and summarizes a selection of papers presented at the conference. At the focal point are a range of topics related to thermal processes as these arise in energy production, storage, utilization and conservation, covering fundamental research, the development of technical solutions for diverse sustainable engineering applications, technoeconomic analyses, and issues relating to the potential and integration of technologies from higher-level approaches. Thermal processes are the basis of numerous sustainable engineering applications and their understanding and improvement are increasingly required in the context of improved resource use efficiency and reduced environmental impact. Applications of interest include thermal systems used in buildings, thermochemical processes, seawater treatment, thermal storage solutions and renewable energy resource use. Emerging challenges in this space have given an opportunity to scientists, researchers and engineers to actively contribute to the development of relevant technological solutions, which are covered briefly in the present article.

Sustainability of energy, water, and environmental systems: a view of recent advances: Special issue dedicated to 2021 conference on sustainable development of energy, water, and environment systems.

This paper presents an overview for the Special Issue (SI) of Clean Technology and Environmental Policy journal (CTEP), and it includes accepted papers from 16th Conferences on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) held from October 10-15, 2021, in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Considering CTEPs policy of high-quality research papers, guest editors have invited 35 research articles, presented at the SDEWES 2021 conference. After a vigorous review process, 12 papers have been accepted for publication in this special issue. All 12 accepted papers are briefly presented in this overview together with a wider view that presents research efforts within the SDEWES community published through previous SDEWES special issues.

Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES)

Earth’s natural systems provide essential resources such as water, food, energy, and materials that we all are dependent upon [...]

Recent Advances in Technologies, Methods, and Economic Analysis for Sustainable Development of Energy, Water, and Environment Systems

Sustainability has become a broad societal goal, aiming to ensure that human beings coexist safely and harmoniously with nature over a longer time. The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy is coming to an end. The development and merits of sustainable energy supply, advanced technology, and economic features have received significant attention over the last few decades. However, significant gaps still exist with respect to how to design, construct, and implement hybrid and optimal energy systems with the lowest investment and cost. Since 2002, the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water, and Environment Systems (SDEWES) conferences have become a significant meeting venue for researchers to introduce, discuss, share, and disseminate novel concepts and ideas. This paper presents an overview of published articles in the Special Issues (SIs) dedicated by the series SDEWES conferences, especially those published in Energies recommended by the 16th SDEWES Conference, which was held on 10–15 October 2021 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. This SI in Energies focused on four main topics, including the application of renewable bioenergy, component enhancement in renewable systems, sustainable development for buildings and economic analysis and evaluation for sustainability. The collected papers provide insight into the topics related to recent advances in improving sustainable efficiency, including studies on waste-to-wealth techniques, utilization of hybrid bioenergy systems, heat exchangers and other components for performance enhancement, energy supply and demand analysis, low-temperature DHC systems, techno-economic assessment, and environmental evaluation.

Introductory remarks on the special issue of Optimization and Engineering dedicated to SDEWES 2021 conference

The background of this Special Issue (SI) of the Optimization and Engineering (OPTE) journal is the 2021 Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Conference. This broad field was discussed by the participants of the 16th SDEWES Conference held in Dubrovnik, Croatia. This SI aims to bring together articles that discuss recent advances in optimization methods and algorithms that integrate various life-supporting systems. A decision-making problem often appears as a parameter estimation problem; it can be formulated as an optimization model and solved using different optimization algorithms and techniques. All papers included in this OPTE journal SI consider aspects of numerical analysis, mathematical modelling, and computational methods involved in investigating, planning and implementing sustainable development. In this context, the guest editors have confidence that the selected papers and addressed issues will substantially contribute to the increase of the knowledge body published in the OPTE journal, and the SI will be a powerful platform for researchers to discuss, share, and disseminate new ideas.

Recent Advances in Low-Carbon and Sustainable, Efficient Technology: Strategies and Applications

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the supply chains of traditional fossil fuels. According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) from 2020, oil-refining activity fell by more than the IEA had anticipated. It was also assumed that the demand in 2021 would likely be 2.6 million bpd below the 2019 levels. However, renewable markets have shown strong resilience during the crisis. It was determined that renewables are on track to meet 80% of the growth in electricity demand over the next 10 years and that sustainable energy will act as the primary source of electricity production instead of coal. On the other hand, the report also emphasized that measures for reducing environmental pollution and CO2 emissions are still insufficient and that significant current investments should be further expanded. The Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) conference series is dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge on methods, policies and technologies for improving the sustainability of development by decoupling growth from the use of natural resources. The 15th SDEWES conference was held online from 1–5 September 2020; more than 300 reports with 7 special sections were organized on the virtual conference platform. This paper presents the major achievements of the recommended papers in the Special Issue of Energies. Additionally, related studies connected to the above papers published in the SDEWES series are also introduced, including the four main research fields of energy saving and emission reduction, renewable energy applications, the development of district heating systems, and the economic assessment of sustainable energy.

Recent advances in methods, policies and technologies at sustainable energy systems development

Following the 2015 Paris Agreement and other agreements which have been signed after, sustainable energy development is becoming the major goal in many countries. EU have set the targets to reduce the annual greenhouse gas emission by 40% in 2030 and 80% for 2050 compared with 1990 levels. For achieving this ambitious energy policy, three major technological changes are available: energy savings on the demand side, efficiency improvements in the energy production, and replacement of fossil fuels by various sources of renewable energy. Also, for realization cited three major technological changes the support of the multi-disciplinary scientific knowledge is needed. Therefore, from the beginning of the 21st century, since 2002, a series of Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Conferences were founded. This paper presents an overview of published researches in special issues of leading journals dedicated to the series SDEWES Conferences, including also the papers in current special issue. The focus is on five main fields: (1) energy policy and analysis of smart energy systems; (2) energy savings in the building sector; (3) co/polygeneration - integrated heating, cooling and electricity systems and district heating; (4) biomass for energy; and (5) measurement of energo-environmental sustainability of processes and systems. Researchers are focused on the development of methods, policies and technologies for both efficient production of energy, mainly from renewable sources, and consumption in industry, buildings and transport. Undoubtedly, the researches presented in the papers in this special issue as well as in previous ones, dedicated to SDEWES conferences, will contribute to the promotion of sustainable development and thus to the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES)

Sustainable development is a highly interdisciplinary concept that involves the interaction of various systems, such as energy, water, and environment, by using waste from one, as a resource in another, and in the exact moment when it is beneficial to all [...]

Green development challenges within the environmental management framework

Green development of energy, water and environment systems is essential as these three systems represent the basic life needs of humankind. Therefore, environmental problems arising from each of these three systems need to be carefully addressed to preserve the energy, water and environment resources for future generations. This paper discusses some of the latest developments in three main areas of sustainability themes, namely energy, water and environment, that emerged from the 14th Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Conference held in 2019. As such, it acts as an editorial paper for the virtual special issue of the Journal of Environmental Management, dedicated to the SDEWES 2019 conference.

Recent Advances in Technology, Strategy and Application of Sustainable Energy Systems

The global COVID-19 pandemic has had strong impacts on national and international freight, construction and tourism industry, supply chains, and has resulted in a rapid decline in the demand for traditional energy sources. In fact, research has outlined that urban areas depend on global supply chains for their day-to-day basic functions, including energy supplies, food and safe access to potable water. The disruption of global supply chains can leave many urban areas in a very vulnerable position, in which their citizens may struggle to obtain their basic supplies, as the COVID-19 crisis has recently shown. Therefore, solutions aiming to enhance local food, water and energy production systems, even in urban environments, have to be pursued. The COVID-19 crisis has also highlighted in the scientific community the problem of people’s exposure to outdoor and indoor pollution, confirmed as a key element for the increase both in the transmission and severity of the contagion, on top of involving health risks on their own. In this context, most nations are going to adopt new preferential policies to stimulate the development of relevant sustainable energy industries, based on the electrification of the systems supplied by renewable energy sources as confirmed by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Thus, while there is ongoing research focusing on a COVID 19 vaccine, there is also a need for researchers to work cooperatively on novel strategies for world economic recovery incorporating renewable energy policy, technology and management. In this framework, the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) conference provides a good platform for researchers and other experts to exchange their academic thoughts, promoting the development and improvements on the renewable energy technologies as well as their role in systems and in the transition towards sustainable energy systems. The 14th SDEWES Conference was held in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It brought together around 570 researchers from 55 countries in the field of sustainable development. The present Special Issue of Energies, specifically dedicated to the 14th SDEWES Conference, focuses on four main fields: energy policy for sustainable development, biomass energy application, building energy saving, and power plant and electric systems.

Environmental problems arising from the sustainable development of energy, water and environment system

Integration of energy, water and environment systems is essential in the multidisciplinary concept of sustainable development, as they represent the basic life needs of mankind. Therefore, problems arising from the sustainable development concept need to be carefully addressed to preserve the energy, water and environment resources for future generations. This article discusses some of the latest developments in three main areas of sustainability themes, namely energy, water and environment, that emerged from three Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) conferences held in 2018. As such, it acts as an editorial paper for the virtual special issue of the Journal of Environmental Management, dedicated to the SDEWES2018 conferences.

Toward an Efficient and Sustainable Use of Energy in Industries and Cities

Several countries have recently realized that the present development paradigm is not sustainable from an environmental and energy point of view. The growing awareness of the population regarding environmental issues is pushing governments worldwide more and more to promote policies aiming at limiting harmful effects of human development. In particular, the rapid increase of the global temperature, especially in the polar regions, and the management of human wastes, mainly plastic in seas, are some of the main points to be addressed by these novel policies. Several actions must be implemented in order to limit such issues. Unfortunately, the recent COP 24 Conference was not successful, but hopefully an agreement will be established in 2020 at the COP 26 Conference. The effort performed by policymakers must be mandatorily supported by the scientific community. In this framework, this paper aims at showing that countries worldwide are trying to negotiate an agreement to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In addition, in this paper all the researchers reported can provide quantitative measures of the actions to be implemented in order to address a sustainable and efficient use of energy. Here, innovations in terms of novel efficient and environmentally friendly technologies mainly based on renewable energy sources have been also investigated. The study also highlights different sectors that have been involved for this aim, such as energy conversion systems, urban areas, mobility, sustainability, water management, social aspects, etc. In this framework, specific conferences are periodically organized in order to provide a forum for discussion regarding these topics. In this area the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) conference is the most ordinary conference. The 13th Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems Conference was held in Palermo, Italy in 2018. The current Special Issue of Energies, precisely dedicated to the 13th SDEWES Conference, is based on three main topics: energy policy and energy efficiency in urban areas, energy efficiency in industry and biomass and other miscellaneous energy systems.

Troubleshooting the problems arising from sustainable development

Sustainable development as a concept of societal development encompasses some problems that need to be addressed carefully. They relate to overcoming the technical limits of individual systems, reducing environmental impact, social inclusion, green economic progress involving all stakeholders, limiting the impact of human activities, etc. Over the past few years, as a result of the increasingly pronounced climate change, more and more studies are addressing these problems and stress the importance of sustainable development. The key to sustainable development are, therefore, the solutions to the problems currently encountered by various stakeholders, that together contribute to the preservation of the environment for future generations. This is no longer based on the goodwill of individuals, but has become the responsibility of the entire generation. This article presents some examples of the solutions for the problems arising from sustainable development and is an overview of recent scientific achievements in the field of sustainable development that emerged from recent Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) conferences. As such, it acts as an editorial paper for the virtual special issue of the Journal of Environmental Management, that is dedicated to the SDEWES2017 conference.

Recent Advances in the Analysis of Sustainable Energy Systems

EU energy policy is more and more promoting a resilient, efficient and sustainable energy system. Several agreements have been signed in the last few months that set ambitious goals in terms of energy efficiency and emission reductions and to reduce the energy consumption in buildings. These actions are expected to fulfill the goals negotiated at the Paris Agreement in 2015. The successful development of this ambitious energy policy needs to be supported by scientific knowledge: a huge effort must be made in order to develop more efficient energy conversion technologies based both on renewables and fossil fuels. Similarly, researchers are also expected to work on the integration of conventional and novel systems, also taking into account the needs for the management of the novel energy systems in terms of energy storage and devices management. Therefore, a multi-disciplinary approach is required in order to achieve these goals. To ensure that the scientists belonging to the different disciplines are aware of the scientific progress in the other research areas, specific Conferences are periodically organized. One of the most popular conferences in this area is the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Series Conference. The 12th Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems Conference was recently held in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The present Special Issue of Energies, specifically dedicated to the 12th SDEWES Conference, is focused on five main fields: energy policy and energy efficiency in smart energy systems, polygeneration and district heating, advanced combustion techniques and fuels, biomass and building efficiency.

Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Index for policy learning in cities

Policy learning between cities is a vital process to enable the diffusion of more sustainable practices. The Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Index provides a composite indicator to benchmark city performance based on 7 dimensions and 35 main indicators. In this research work, the SDEWES Index is applied to 25 cities. Data are collected, normalised, and aggregated to obtain the results. Stockholm (3.29), Espoo (3.25) and Sevilla (2.98) are the top three cities. An average city in the sample receives an index score of 2.75. The paper further develops a benchmarking tool to trigger policy learning based on the index performance. Two typologies of policy learning are discussed to stimulate an exploratory process for catching-up or finding solutions to common needs. On the basis of the total of 56 cities to which the index is applied to date, a search algorithm is developed to match cities in which 10 common patterns are identified. The paper concludes with the prospect of using the SDEWES Index to stimulate innovation for more sustainable cities.

Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Index for policy learning in cities

Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Index for policy learning in cities

Integrated approach for sustainable development of energy, water and environment systems

The Conferences on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) at the beginning of the 21st century have become a significant venue for researchers to meet, and initiate, discuss, share, and disseminate new ideas in various disciplines of sustainable development. In 2002, the first conference was organised in Dubrovnik, Croatia and since then, 10 more successful conferences were realised. Following the success of international conferences in Dubrovnik, the organizing committees decided to organize the main conference and regional conferences all over the world in even years. In 2016, the second regional SDEWES conference, namely the 2nd South East European Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems, was held June 15–18 in Piran/Portorose, Slovenia while the 11th SDEWES conference was organised in Lisbon, Portugal on September 4–8. There were 10 special sessions dedicated to various sustainability topics organised in both conferences.This special issue is based primarily upon a collection of 35 papers selected from among 538 scientific contributions presented at the 2nd SEE and 11th SDEWES Conferences. Moreover, this editorial summarises SDEWES published articles that have addressed and identified problems or provided the background for the research that is reported in the current special issue. The main topics of the selected papers address sustainable combustion technologies, renewable energy sources and sector integration, including the integration of renewable technologies in the urban environment, the integration of heat, cold, electricity and fuel production in buildings and industrial applications, heat exchangers and heat exchanger networks, the development and integration of energy storage for concentrated solar power plants, and sectorial integration of bioenergy resources and biorefineries with a particular focus on system integration for efficient and low-carbon systems.