Transformation Of Solar Energy Research Articles

Heat transport analysis of three-dimensional Magnetohydrodynamics nanofluid flow through an extending sheet with thermal radiation and heat source/sink

Regarding heat transformation efficiency, the hybrid nanofluid performs superior to the nanofluid. The majority of hybrid nanofluid uses are in the industrial sector, producing solar energy, cooling generators, and vehicle heat transformation. Heat transfer and nanofluid velocity are the two most crucial transport properties that must be evaluated before the first and second thermodynamics equations are applied to nanoscale fluids. The objective of this work is to investigate the characteristics of transmission of heat of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) nanofluid (Ag/H2O)and hybrid nanofluid (Ag+Al2O3/H2O)flow on a linear extensible sheet when magnetic forces are present. Similarity variables are applied to transform a set of nonlinear dimensionless partial-differential equations to collection of ordinary-differential equations. The non-analytical solutions of these transformed equations are found utilizing the MATLAB mathematical program's bvp4c function. The impression of various physical attributes along skin friction coefficients and properties of heat transmission are analyzed. The behavior of key parameters, including surface stretching ratio, rotational and magnetic effects, for temperature and velocity, is shown using graphs and tables. In conclusion, hybrid nanofluids, which comprise silver and aluminum oxide nanoparticles dispersed in water, outperform silver-water nanofluids by around 10-15% under magnetohydrodynamic (MHD). The higher thermal conductivity of these hybrid nanofluids allows for better heat dissipation, making them an appealing option for applications that need optimal thermal management in the presence of magnetic fields.

MgFeO3 perovskite nanostructures: A New Frontier in photoelectrochemical water splitting

The process of transforming solar power into hydrogen fuel through photoelectrochemical water splitting is a highly viable strategy for producing hydrogen in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner, offering a long-term solution to the worldwide energy crisis. Therefore, the need for high-performance photoelectrodes is critical for optimizing the transformation of solar energy into hydrogen fuel. Herein, a simple citrate sol-gel technique was employed to fabricate magnesium iron oxide (MgFeO3) for its potential use in photoelectrochemical water splitting. A detailed analysis was undertaken using techniques such as XRD, FESEM, XPS, PL, EDX, and UV–Vis spectrophotometry to uncover the fundamental physicochemical and optoelectronic aspects of the MgFeO3 perovskite material. The MgFeO3 photoelectrode manifests superior PEC characteristics as evidenced by the optimal photocurrent density of 4.5 mA cm−2 achieved at a potential of 1.2 V vs. RHE, and a commendable solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 0.97%. EIS studies provided evidence of improved charge transfer kinetics and decreased recombination rates in the MgFeO3 photoelectrode. In addition, extended reliability evaluations utilizing chronoamperometry verified consistent operation for 10 h at a photocurrent density of 3.5 mA cm−2, demonstrating the long-term durability of MgFeO3 in PEC water splitting. These results emphasize the considerable promise of MgFeO3 perovskite as a proficient and robust photoelectrode substance for PEC water-splitting applications.

G-C3N4-Based Photocatalytic Materials for Converting CO2 Into Energy: A Review.

Environmental pollution management and renewable energy development are humanity's biggest issues in the 21st century. The rise in atmospheric CO2, which has surpassed 400 parts per million, has stimulated research on CO2 reduction and conversion methods. Presently, photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to valuable hydrocarbons enables the transformation of solar energy into chemical energy and offers a novel avenue for energy conversion while regulating the greenhouse effect. This is an ideal strategy for simultaneously addressing environmental issues and the energy crisis. Photocatalysts are essential to photocatalytic processes. Photocatalyst is the core of photocatalytic technology, and graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has attracted much attention because of its nonmetallic characteristics, and it has the characteristics of low cost, tunable electronic structure, easy manufacture and strong reducibility. However, its activity is not only affected by external reaction conditions, but also by the band gap structure, physical and chemical stability, surface morphology and specific surface area of the photocatalyst it. In this paper, the application progress of g-C3N4-based photocatalytic materials in CO2 reduction is reviewed, and the modification strategies of g-C3N4-based catalysts to obtain better catalytic efficiency and selectivity in CO2 photocatalytic reduction are summarized, and the future development of this material is prospected.

Machine learning assisted prediction of solar to liquid fuel production: a case study

In this era of heightened environmental awareness, the global community faces the critical challenge of climate change. Renewable energy (RE) emerges as a vital contender to mitigate global warming and meet increasing energy needs. Nonetheless, the fluctuating nature of renewable energy sources underscores the necessity for efficient conversion and storage strategies. This pioneering research focuses on the transformation of solar energy (SE) into liquid fuels, with a specific emphasis on formic acid (FA) as a case study, done in Binh Thuan, Vietnam. The paper unveils a technology designed to convert solar energy into formic acid, ensuring its stability and storage at ambient conditions. It involves detailed simulations to quantify the daily and monthly electricity output from photovoltaic (PV) systems and the corresponding mass of formic acid producible through solar energy. The simulation of a dual-axis solar tracking system for the PV panels, intended to maximize solar energy capture, is one of the project's illustrations. The elevation and azimuth angles, which are two essential tracking system parameters, are extensively studied in the present research. The project makes use of machine learning algorithms in the field of predictive modeling, specifically Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Support Vector Machines (SVM). These tools play a crucial role in modeling PV power output and formic acid production while accounting for a variety of influencing factors. A comparative study shows that SVM outperforms ANN in accurately predicting the production of FA and PV power generation, both of which are the major goals. This model is a predictive tool that can be used to forecast these goals based on certain causal variables. Overall, it is observed that the maximum power produced with 2-axis solar tracker was achieved in February as 2355 kW resulting in the highest formic acid production of 2.25 ×106 grams. The study's broad ramifications demonstrate solar liquid fuel technology's potential as a long-term fix in the field of renewable energy. In addition to advancing the field of renewable energy storage, the study represents a major step toward tackling the global challenge of climate change.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN INSTALLATION TO REDUCE THE TEMPERATURE OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES AND IMPROVE THEIR EFFICIENCY

. The main priority in photovoltaic panels is electricity production. The transformation of solar energy into electricity depends on the operating temperature in such a way that the lower the temperature is, the better the performance of the panels is. In the existing literature, different cooling techniques may be found. Most of them propose the use of air or water as thermal energy carriers. This paper is focused on the use of these cooling techniques in photovoltaic panels placed onto the roof of a greenhouse. So, the objective of this study is to ensure a low operating temperature which corrects and reverses the effects produced by high temperature on efficiency.

Agroecological assessment and efficiency of potential fertility

The paper raises the issues of biosphere development, which is carried out against the background of complex processes of substance and energy exchange. Under the influence of V.I. Based on Vernadsky's ideas, major progress was made in studying the movement of chemical elements and redistribution of matter within different parts of the biosphere. The energy of soil formation is a new scientific direction, studying on the basis of system analysis the regularities of transformation of solar energy spent on soil formation (physical and chemical destruction of soil-forming rocks, hyper gene transformation of minerals, etc.), revealing objective ecological conditions of formation and distribution of soils and biogeocenosis in the biosphere. An important task of soil formation energy is the development of effective technological systems to increase the full utilization of solar energy, to create highly productive natural and agricultural biocenoses. Before outlining the main directions of soil formation energetics, it is necessary to define a set of issues that are relevant to this problem. They should include sources and expenditures of energy in soil formation, the amount of energy accumulated in the soil, and others. Much less attention is paid to the energy assessment of these processes. Meanwhile, cognition of the regularities of energy exchange and transformation in the biosphere is a very important problem of modern natural science. From the energy point of view, the emergence and development of the biosphere on Earth should be considered as a grandiose process of gradual accumulation of the stock of convertible solar energy in the surface layer of the planet.

Solar Energy Harnessing Technologies towards De-Carbonization: A Systematic Review of Processes and Systems

Solar energy, derived from the inexhaustible energy of the sun, has emerged as a promising solution to mitigate the environmental challenges posed by fossil fuel consumption and global climate change. This work explores the underlying principles of solar energy exploitation, focusing on energy collection technologies as the primary means of solar energy conversion. The physics of the state-of-the-art mechanisms, the photovoltaic effect, and the advancements that have driven the transformation of solar energy into a viable and sustainable alternative energy source are also examined. Through a comprehensive review of relevant literature and pioneering research, this study highlights the immense potential of solar energy and its role in shaping a cleaner, greener future. Towards de-carbonization, the various exploitation technologies are divided into direct and indirect in order to optimize resource utilization. Accounting for the most important advantages presented, solar-based utilization processes are perhaps the only ones that provide access to energy for all to satisfy their vital needs. As nations continue to embrace solar energy and invest in its development, we move closer to achieving a more sustainable and environmentally friendly world for generations to come.

Energy and the Macrodynamics of Agrarian Societies

For the present work, we utilized Leslie White’s anthropological theory of cultural evolutionism as a theoretical benchmark for econometrically assessing the macrodynamics of energy use in agrarian societies that constituted the human civilization’s second energy paradigm between 12,000 BC and 1800 AC. As White’s theory views a society’s ability to harness and control energy from its environment as the primary function of culture, we may classify the evolution of human civilizations in three phases according to their energy paradigm, defined as the dominant pattern of energy harvesting from nature. In this context, we may distinguish three energy paradigms so far: hunting–gathering, agriculture, and fossil fuels. Agriculture, as humanity’s energy paradigm for ~14,000 years, essentially comprises a secondary form of solar energy that is biochemically transformed by photosynthetic life (plants and land). Based on this property, we model agrarian societies with similar principles to natural ecosystems. Just like natural ecosystems, agrarian societies receive abundant solar energy input but also have limited land ability to transform and store them biochemically. As in natural ecosystems, this constraint is depicted by the carrying capacity emerging biophysically from the limiting factor. Hence, the historical dynamics of agrarian societies are essentially reduced to their struggle to maximize energy use by maximizing the area and productivity of fertile land –in the role of a solar energy transformation hub– mitigating their limiting factor. Such an evolutionary forcing introduced technical upgrades, like the leverage of domesticated livestock power as a multiplier of the caloric value harvested by arable and grazing land combined. According to the above, we tested the econometric performance of four selected dynamic maps used extensively in ecology to reproduce humanity’s energy harvesting macrodynamics between 10,000 BC and 1800 AC: (a) the logistic map, (b) the logistic growth map, (c) a lower limiting case of the Hassel map that yields the Ricker map, and (d) a higher limiting case of the Hassel map that yields the Beverton–Holt map. Following our results, we discuss thoroughly our framework’s major elaborations on social hierarchy and competition as mechanisms for allocating available energy in society, as well as the related future research and econometric modeling challenges.

Fixed Point Results in Controlled Fuzzy Metric Spaces with an Application to the Transformation of Solar Energy to Electric Power

In this manuscript, we give sufficient conditions for a sequence to be Cauchy in the context of controlled fuzzy metric space. Furthermore, we generalize the concept of Banach’s contraction principle by utilizing several new contraction conditions and prove several fixed point results. Furthermore, we provide a number of non-trivial examples to validate the superiority of main results in the existing literature. At the end, we discuss an important application to the transformation of solar energy to electric power by utilizing differential equations.

Innovative study in renewable energy source through mixed surfactant system for eco-friendly environment.

Actual plan of research work was proposed for systematic investigating in the field of photogalvanic (PG) cells for solar energy transformation. It was necessary and proposed to carry out experimental work under the solar parameters for PG cells. The object of the research work is to enhance the solar energy conversion into electricity and store it through PG cells. Various parameters were studied in a PG cell having D-Xylose + MB + Brij-35 + NaLS system (mixed surfactants). In this study, the observed optimum results in terms of the open circuit voltage, photopotential, maximum photocurrent, and short circuit current are 921.00mV, 698.00mV, 311uA, and 245.0uA, respectively. The observed equilibrium photocurrent, current at power point, fill factor, and conversion efficiency were 243.0uA and 142.0uA, 0.4521, and 0.6769%, respectively. For individual surfactants, the observed results in terms of the open circuit voltage, photopotential, maximum photocurrent, and short circuit current are 870.00mV, 635.00mV, 175uA, and 90.0uA, respectively. For individualsurfactant system,the observed equilibrium photocurrent, current at power point, fill factor, and conversion efficiency were 84.0uA and 55.0uA, 0.3630, and 0.3100%, respectively. The impact of solar energy was studied by varying the various parameters in PG cells. On the basis of above obtained values, the mixed surfactants (NaLS + Brij-35) have experimentally proved the efficient system as the desired object of research with special reference to enhance electrical out and storage of solar energy.

A Simulation Study of Solar Thermal Steam Generation for Thermal Recovery of Thick Oil Based on Aspen Plus

High-temperature steam injection is a common means of thermal recovery of thick oil. Although the steam injection boiler currently used for thick oil injection can achieve fast start-stop control, the power consumption of the pump is large, and the boiler control is demanding. Besides, a large amount of fossil fuel is needed to supply the heat required for steam heating. Using solar thermal to realize the transformation of solar energy-molten salt heat energy-steam energy can effectively reduce the burning of fossil fuels and realize clean thermal recovery of thick oil. To ensure the actual demand of thermal recovery of thick oil, it is necessary to determine a reasonable steam evaporation volume and vapor phase fraction. This paper simulates a solar thermal heat exchange system for molten salt-steam based on Aspen Plus. The simulation results show that the heat load and required solar panel area of all heat exchangers rise when the evaporation volume increases. However, the superheater grows most slowly. When the vapor phase fraction at the evaporator outlet rises to 1, there is no phase change heat transfer in the superheater, and its heat load plummets to 230 kW.

Highly efficient photothermal catalytic upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate via boosted localized heating

Photothermal catalysis driven by clean solar energy efficiently converts plastic waste into high-value-added products. The catalytic process involves the transformation of solar energy to chemical energy. However, designing photothermal catalysts with a high conversion efficiency and catalytic activity remains considerably challenging. In this study, a c-ZIF-8@SiO2 nanostructure is fabricated. It acts both as the photothermal reagent and the catalyst, displaying high photothermal conversion efficiency, catalytic activity, and stability in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) glycolysis. SiO2-coated c-ZIF-8 effectively reduces the thermal radiation loss of the carbon material, thus enhancing the local thermal effect of the catalytic system. Consequently, the conversion efficiency of PET achieved using photothermal catalysis is 3.4 times higher than that of thermal catalysis under the same conditions. An economic efficiency analysis proves that photothermal catalysis can save 6390000 kW·h of electricity and reduce up to 3089.59 tons of CO2 emissions for every 10000 tons of PET recycled. Therefore, the development of clean energy-driven photothermal catalysis technology could be a potential solution for the upcycling of waste plastics.

Power grid based renewable energy analysis by photovoltaic cell machine learning architecture in wind energy hybridization

Use of solar energy systems and related green energy technology has spread around the world. When compared to conventional energy sources, solar energy is still not a frequently used energy source due to the comparatively high installation prices, low conversion rates, and battery capacity concerns. Despite the difficulties, there are numerous creative studies of new substances and new techniques for enhancing the efficiency of solar energy transformation to increase competitiveness of solar energy in market. This research proposes novel method in renewable energy analysis based on photovoltaic cell and machine learning technique for wind energy hybridization. The renewable analysis has been analysed using photovoltaic (PV) cell. Wind energy hybridization is carried out using convolutional kernel support regression vector machine. Experimental analysis has been carried out in terms of scalability, QoS (quality of service), power consumption, network efficiency, training accuracy. Financial advantages of using new cooling methods for photovoltaic panels are also assessed through a cost analysis.

The Ovs surface defecting of an S-scheme g-C3N4/H2Ti3O7 nanoheterostructures with accelerated spatial charge transfer

Semiconductor photocatalysis was a rising star in the sustainable transformation of solar energy for environmental problems governance. Herein, an S-scheme g-C3N4/H2Ti3O7 heterostructure was constructed and applied to tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) destruction. The g-C3N4/H2Ti3O7 composite has a superior photocatalytic property to degrade TCH in contrast with bare g-C3N4 and H2Ti3O7. The 20% g-C3N4/H2Ti3O7 (CNHTO20) composite exhibited the optimum photocatalytic performance, and the degradation efficiency of 20 mg/L TCH reached 87.37% within 3 h (K = 0.572 min−1). The affluent active sites of the g-C3N4 nanosheet and effective interfacial charge separation of the S-scheme pathway facilitated the excellent performance. Moreover, the ample oxygen vacancies (Ovs) act as the electron mediator, not only reducing the band gap energy by producing the formation of defect levels, but also broadening the photo response range and promoting the interfacial charge transfer. The coordination complexes formed between TCH molecules and Ti (IV) ions in CNHTO20 composites induce strong visible light absorption through ligand–metal charge transfer (LMCT). The Ti4+/Ti3+ metal cycle in CNHTO20 was conducive to the separation of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs on the heterojunction interface as well. The ESR characterization and trapping experiments certified that the dominant substances were OH, O2– and h+. The AQY calculated by the COD removal rate was 0.16%. Conclusively, the S-scheme heterojunction between H2Ti3O7 and g-C3N4 enabled the CNHTO photocatalyst with high redox ability and boosted photocatalytic performance accordingly. This study may shed some enlightenment on the construction of heterojunctions and the realistic treatment of wastewater.

Construction of Cu7.2S4/g-C3N4 photocatalyst for efficient NIR photocatalysis of H2 production

Graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has been regarded as a promising photocatalyst for solar-to-chemical conversion. Nevertheless, the narrow absorption of light extremely limited its photocatalytic performance under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. Herein, the Cu7.2S4 with outstanding NIR absorption was successfully introduced to g-C3N4 nanosheets through a simple in-situ growth procedure. As expected, the constructed Cu7.2S4/g-C3N4 (CSCN) photocatalysts exhibit superior H2 production activity of 82 μmol g−1 h−1 under NIR light irradiation (λ > 800 nm), which outperforms currently reported g–C3N4–based NIR-driven H2 production systems. Especially, the optimal sample CSCN-5 displays a robust activity of 66 μmol g−1 h−1 at λ = 850 nm monochromatic light irradiation. The excellent photocatalytic performance is linked to the extended optical absorption as well as the efficient separation efficiency of photoinduced carriers, which are evidenced by the UV-visible absorption spectroscopy and photoelectrochemical test. This work provides an effective approach for constructing a Cu7.2S4/g-C3N4 photocatalytic system for the transformation of NIR solar energy into hydrogen.

Composites of Co-Al hydrotalcites and carbon nanomaterials for photocatalytic H2 production

Hydrogen is considered one of the main energy sources for the near future. Numerous efforts are currently underway for the direct transformation of solar energy into H2. Hydrotalcites are two-dimensional materials whose composition can be tuned relatively easily and, by themselves or in combination with other materials, are proving to be useful for the H2 evolution reaction. In this work, composites of a Co-Al hydrotalcite with carbon spheres or nanotubes have been prepared. It has been shown that, in general, such composites improve H2 production. The influence of the nature, structure, and characteristics of the different materials on the reaction has been studied, as well as the role of each component and its mechanism. In particular, proper integration of both components and improved textural properties, as is the case of the composite with carbon spheres, leads to a yield of 3820 μmol H2 g−1 at 5 h, more than twice that obtained with hydrotalcite alone, in the presence of Ru(bpy)3Cl2 as a photosensitizer and triethanolamine as an electron donor at 450 nm. The present methodology opens the door to the preparation of other composites for the improvement of the performance of photocatalytic systems for H2 production.

Preparation of graphitized carbon-coated glass fiber cloth materials with high mechanical strength, corrosion resistance, and solar-driven water evaporation performance

Global warming has highlighted the urgency of implementing renewable energy technologies. Solar-driven water evaporation has attracted significant attention because solar radiation is a green (i.e., renewable) energy source that can be applied for seawater desalination purposes. Various materials have been developed to promote the transformation of solar energy to heat to enhance the efficiency of steam generation. However, developing materials that are suitable for long-term applications, i.e., with high mechanical strength and antifouling resistance, is challenging. This report describes the preparation of carbon-coated glass fiber cloth (C-GFC) using a polymer pyrolysis method. The C-GFC exhibited high mechanical strength (240 MPa), anti-corrosion properties in acidic and alkaline environments, light absorption over 95%, and good hydrophilicity. After integrating the C-GFC into a three-layer evaporation generator device, the evaporation rate exceeded 1.5 kg m−2 h−1 under one sun, with 88% thermal conversion efficiency. Moreover, the C-GFC materials maintained their initial evaporation rate even after long-term treatment in acidic, alkaline, and seawater environments. The developed carbon-coated glass fiber cloth materials therefore demonstrate promising potential for photothermal water conversion applications.

Boosting the Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation Performance of TiO2 Nanotubes by Surface Modification Using Silver Phosphate

Photoelectrocatalytic approaches are fascinating options for long-lasting energy storage through the transformation of solar energy into electrical energy or hydrogen fuel. Herein, we report a facile method of fabricating a composite electrode of well-aligned TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) decorated with photodeposited silver phosphate (Ag3PO4) nanoparticles. Assessment of the optical, physiochemical and photoelectrochemical features demonstrated that the fabricated TNTs/Ag3PO4 films showed a substantially boosted photocurrent response of 0.74 mA/cm2, almost a 3-fold enrichment in comparison with the pure TNTs. Specifically, the applied bias photon-to-current efficiency of the fabricated TNTs/Ag3PO4 composite electrode was 2.4-fold superior to that of the pure TNTs electrode. In these TNTs/Ag3PO4 photoanodes, the introduction of Ag3PO4 over TNTs enhanced light absorption and improved charge transfer and surface conductivity. The developed process can be generally applied to designing and developing efficient contact interfaces between photoanodes and numerous cocatalysts.

Osmotic-Enhanced-Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production Based on Nanofluidics

Osmotic-Enhanced-Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production Based on Nanofluidics

A synthesis of floodplain aquatic ecosystem metabolism and carbon flux using causal criteria analysis

AbstractThe transformation of solar energy into organic matter by autotrophs (gross primary production [GPP]) and the use of that energy by autotrophs and heterotrophs (ecosystem respiration [ER]) describe the total energy available to support food webs. Rates of GPP and ER vary with temperature, light, hydrology, nutrients, and organic matter supply and quality yet despite their obvious importance, spatiotemporal variation of metabolic patterns among floodplain habitats, and their relationship to inundation dynamics remain unclear. We set out to review the peer‐reviewed literature surrounding the influence of the magnitude, frequency, and duration of floodplain inundation on aquatic ecosystem metabolism and carbon flux by rigorously testing a suite of cause–effect hypotheses using a causal criteria analysis. Causal criteria analysis is a literature synthesis approach developed to address a lack of experimental data and subsequent weak inference of causal relationships. We found support for 3 of the 14 hypotheses we tested relating to putative causal relationships: (1) large floods transfer more carbon from floodplains to the river channel than small floods via the increase in inundation area leading to more overall leaching of floodplain litter, (2) in high turbidity floodplain habitats rates of GPP are reduced by restrictions to photic depth, and (3) a positive correlation between nutrients and GPP—generally GPP in floodplain wetlands increases with nutrient levels. We obtained inconsistent evidence for a causal relationship between macrophytes and aquatic GPP, with studies reporting both a negative influence from decreased light caused by macrophyte shading and a positive influence from structural support provided by macrophytes for periphyton growth. For the remaining 10 hypotheses, there was insufficient evidence to support causal relationships, including for any hypotheses relating to frequency or duration of floodplain inundation. Our results emphasize that despite an apparent wealth of metabolic studies in riverine ecosystems, floodplain metabolic dynamics remain poorly studied, likely due to less investment and increased difficulty compared to lotic waters. The review also highlighted aspects of floodplain aquatic ecosystem metabolism for which there are significant knowledge gaps in the literature, in particular metabolic responses to inundation frequency and duration. Our results call attention to the importance of site specificity and temporal changes when predicting putative cause–effect relationships between floodplain inundation and metabolic patterns.