Carbon Transition Research Articles

Land carbon metabolism in Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou region based on ecological network analysis.

Discovering the underlying mechanisms between carbon metabolism and carbon balance of human-natural system is of important theoretical and practical significance for reducing regional carbon emissions and promoting low-carbon development. Taking Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou region from 2000 to 2020 as an example, we constructed the framework of spatial network model of land carbon metabolism based on carbon flow, and inquired into the spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the carbon metabolic structure, function and ecological relationships by using the ecological network analysis. The results showed that the dominant negative carbon transitions related with land use changes came from the conversion of cultivated land to industrial and transportation land, and that the high value areas of negative carbon flow were mainly distributed in the areas with relatively developed industries in the middle and east parts of Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou region. Competition relationships were the dominant type and the spatial expansion was obvious, which led to the decreases of the integral ecological utility index and affected the regional carbon metabolic balance. The ecological network hierarchy of driving weight changed from a pyramid structure to a relatively more regular structure, with the producer contributing the most. The ecological network hie-rarchy of pull weight changed from a pyramid structure to an inverted pyramid structure, mainly due to the excessive increase of industrial and transportation land weights. Low-carbon development should focus on the sources of negative carbon transitions caused by land use conversion and its comprehensive impacts on carbon metabolic balance, to formulate differentiated low-carbon land use patterns and carbon emission reduction policies.

Recovered cobalt-nickel sulfide from spent lithium-ion batteries as an advanced anode material toward sodium-ion batteries

Explosive growth of the electric vehicle market has led to a substantial accumulation of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), causing significant environmental pollution and the wastage of precious metal resources. Thus, we developed a simple hydrothermal method to convert the spent LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NMC-811) cathode into CoNi-MOF. After the subsequent sulfidation process, waxberry-like Co0.11Ni0.89S@N-doped carbon composites (Co0.11Ni0.89S@NC), as a bimetallic sulfide solid solution, can be successfully synthesized to serve as high-performance anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). The waxberry-like structure and strong S-C bonds between the carbon matrix and transition metal sulfides ensure the structural stability of the material during the cycle. Besides, the coexistence of Co and Ni in the bimetallic sulfide solid solution generates abundant lattice defects and modifies the electronic structures that significantly improve the charge transfer ability and Na+ diffusivity. The as-prepared Co0.11Ni0.89S@NC exhibits a high specific capacity of 622 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1, outstanding rate capacity of 370 mAh g−1 at 5000 mA g−1 and good cycling stability (330 mAh g−1 after 1500 cycles at 5000 mA g−1). This study presents a promising approach for the recycling of spent LIBs into high-performance anodes for SIBs, thus achieving the transformation of waste into valuable resources.

Dual-phase nanostructure of amorphous carbon and TaCB solid solution: Robust high-performance protective coating for marine equipment

The challenge of concurrently resisting corrosion, wear, and microbial adhesion in marine equipment necessitates the development of advanced protective coatings for moving parts. Leveraging the unique properties of constituent phases in nanocomposite materials offers a promising approach. Here, we report the development of a high-performance protective coating material combining hard, anti-corrosive, and antifouling TaB2 phase with a self-lubricating amorphous carbon (a-C) phase. The synthesized specimens form an “a-C embedded in TaCB solid solution” (a-C/TaCB) structure at 8 at.% carbon content and transition to a “TaCB solid solution embedded in a-C” (TaCB/a-C) structure at 18.8 at.% carbon content. The a-C/TaCB coating demonstrates enhanced tribological, corrosion and tribocorrosion performances compared to the TaB2 coating, while maintaining excellent mechanical and antifouling performances without the usual deterioration caused by an excess soft biocompatible a-C phase. The rational design of this dual-phase nanocomposite structure could facilitate the development of a unique class of protective coating materials tailored to meet the stringent requirements of harsh marine environments.

Simple fabrication of (CoFe)Se2 @NC electrode materials derived from MOF materials and the electrochemical properties for supercapacitor

Porous carbon nanocomposites and transition metal selenides generated from metal-organic frameworks (MOF) are suitable electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage applications owing to their substantial open space, but their preparation is still fraught with difficulties. Herein, we prepared CoFe Prussian blue-like (CoFe-PBA) nanocubes by a simple co-deposition method and obtained CoFe-PBA@PPy by polymerically assembling CoFe-PBA coated with polypyrrole (PPy), and then successfully prepared (CoFe)Se2 @NC nanocomposites with nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) coated with (CoFe)Se2 by one-step selenization in nitrogen at 400 °C and their structures and morphologies were investigated in depth. This carefully prepared (CoFe)Se2 @NC nanocomposite with an open skeleton structure contains large enough coordination space gaps, porous conduction networks, and a large number of redox-active sites, so that it can largely enhance the kinetic performance of electron and ion transport and facilitate pseudocapacitive reactions, optimize the cycling stability of energy storage devices, and prolong the lifespan of actual devices. Moreover, a stable structure can be maintained during the cycle process and is less likely to collapse, depending on the flexibility and mechanical qualities of the NC. The active material was fixed in nickel foam by a coating method and dried as the electrode for the supercapacitor, and its electrochemical performance was evaluated. The outcomes demonstrated the specific capacitance of the (CoFe)Se2 @NC electrode material could reach 867 F/g at 1 A/g of current density, and its specific capacitance can still reach 640 F/g at a high current density of 5 A/g. Even after 20000 cycles, it still maintains good cycling stability and 99% specific capacitance retention. In addition, we used a brand-new asymmetric all-solid-state supercapacitor (all-solid-state supercapacitor ASC) with (CoFe)Se2 @NC as the positive electrode, Fe2O3/RGO as the negative electrode, and potassium hydroxide/polyvinyl alcohol (KOH/PVA) gel as the electrolyte. The asymmetric all-solid-state supercapacitor of (CoFe)Se2 @NC//Fe2O3/RGO showed remarkable electrochemical performance with an energy density of up to 20 Wh/kg and a power density of 750 W/kg. The supercapacitor was also found to have good cycling stability in the test, with a capacitance retention of 81.1% after 6500 cycles at a current density of 2 A/g.

Evaluation of European Union carbon and energy networks: Evidence from market efficiency

This article investigates dynamic networks of the informational efficiency between European Union carbon and energy markets in a quantile-based framework. The market (in)efficiency degree is gauged by capturing the potentially fractional integration order of the market price series using the Feasible Exact Local Whittle estimator on a rolling basis. Rather than relying on a mean-based method, we employ the causality-in-quantiles approach, through which the cross-market linkage of the inefficiency degree is uncovered in a full-distributional characterization. The dynamic linkage is identified through the perspectives of data in return and volatility, respectively. We find that both carbon and energy markets are inefficient, while the inefficiency degree of the former is slightly higher. The inefficiency degree of the two types of markets is featured by asymmetry and non-linearity over the data distribution, while its cross-market linkage is found to be bi-directional. The spillover degree of the dynamic linkage remains the highest at around the median quantile of the “information giver,” while such the degree weakens at the extreme quantiles. Our findings possess insightful implications for effective operations of the emission trading toward a low carbon transition.

Uncovering the role of renewable energy innovation in China's low carbon transition: Evidence from total-factor carbon productivity

The rapid growth of Chinese renewable energy innovation has shown great potential to improve total-factor carbon productivity (TFCP), but it still lacks sufficient literature understanding of the detailed impact and mechanisms. This paper empirically tests the influence mechanism, effect characteristics, and causal configurations based on a sample of 30 provinces from 2006 to 2017. We reveal optimizing the energy structure is the crucial intermediate channel for renewable energy technology innovation improving the TFCP, but it is not the unique mechanism. Since renewable energy technology innovation could directly improve the efficiency of the full industrial chain of electricity, the remaining channel can be summarized as the power operating efficiency improvement. From the heterogeneous analysis, the technological innovations in wind and solar energy display relatively larger contributions to the growth of total-factor carbon productivity. The threshold effect analysis further indicates the larger the coal consumption, the larger probability for renewable energy innovation to play a role in improving TFCP. Eventually, we observed four causal configurations of renewable energy technology innovation to determine the TFCP. It suggests renewable energy innovation cannot affect TFCP independently and often acts with other factors, eventually explaining the actual levels of regional TFCP.

CAES Compressed Air Energy System: Dynamic Simulation & Optimization

Abstract: A CAES (Compressed Air Energy System) plant can be considered as a storage system. The purpose is to store air under pressure and then use it, when required, to generate energy. The system is composed of a series of compressors and heat exchangers and the architecture of the plant aims to reduce compression work and improve storage efficiency. The storage tank can be different depending on the case and the final use, so a cave, a combustion chamber or an expander. Currently the plants that have been built are in Germany (plant built in 1978 with a rated power of 290 MW) and in the USA (built in 1991 with a rated power of 110 MW). In both configurations, the plants use saline caves as reservoirs. Lately, different types of plant are being studied, but they are still in the design phase.
 The objective of the present work is, through a steady-state and then a dynamic simulation, to analyze the positive aspects of this technology and its criticalities, trying to optimize its layout. In addition, through a comparison with the few data available on existing plants, create a database of great interest for researchers and experts in the field. Finally, evaluate, based on the data obtained, the possible developments of technology in the context of the "low carbon transition" through the possible use of renewable sources, such as solar photovoltaic, wind and so on.

Carbon resilience calibration as a carbon management technology

In the path to a net-zero carbon and energy transition from fossil fuel, the world is facing a dilemma of growing global energy demand and required actions on climate-related risks. While over 80% of the current global energy needs are supplied by fossil fuels, the number of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects is limited in this sector. There is a huge gap between the scale and distribution of ongoing CCUS projects and the carbon intensity (CI) of energy-intensive industries. Furthermore, the climate impact of growing reliance on unconventional resources (Tar sands and shales) as well as the depletion of conventional resources poses challenges to the oil and gas sector to meet energy demand, while limiting their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On the other hand, the economic viability of CCUS projects is highly sensitive to carbon credits policies, which are not yet fully integrated in a way to fill the current gap in the number, scale and distribution of these projects. Moreover, there is limited consistency between the allocated decarbonization funds and the anticipated economic growth of fossil fuel economies to promote wide-scale global resilience to carbon exposure. Therefore, it is essential to take climate-related risks, including socioeconomic impacts, into consideration for the decision-making process of companies and governments to embrace low-carbon energy. The focus of this article is on carbon resilience calibration and emissions scenario analysis in investment decisions to realize decarbonization goals through balancing short-term actions with long-term energy transition plans. The challenges and prospects of the application of CCUS technologies as an industrial decarbonization approach are discussed. Carbon footprint (CFP) observing, factoring and reporting workflows for correlating carbon exposure and resilience as part of climate assessment are introduced. Moreover, the main elements of carbon resilience scenarios are analyzed to fill the gap between the current industrial activities and decarbonization plans and to avoid making decisions solely based on economic aspects. Finally, we propose a workflow for carbon resilience calibration and a cash flow model for a sample CCUS project in the upstream oil and gas industry.

Measuring the anthropogenic cycles of light rare earths in China: Implications for the imbalance problem

Light rare earth elements (LREEs) are of strategic importance for low carbon transition and decarbonization. However, the imbalance between LREEs exists and a systematic understanding of their flows and stocks is lacking, which impedes the attainment of resources efficiency and exacerbates the environmental burdens. This study examines the anthropogenic cycles and the imbalance problem of three representative LREEs in China, the largest LREEs producer in the world, including cerium (the most abundant), neodymium and praseodymium (the fastest demand-growing). We find that 1) from 2011 to 2020, the total consumption of Nd and Pr increased by 228 % and 223 %, respectively, mainly attributed to the increasing demand of NdFeB, whereas that of Ce increased by 157 %; 2) the supply insufficiency of Nd and Pr under the current quota system accumulated to 138,086 tons and 35,549 tons, respectively, while the oversupply of Ce reached 63,523 tons; and 3) China has become a net importer of LREEs concentrates, and a net exporter of LREEs in the form of intermediate and final products, imposing further burdens to the domestic environment. It is clear that the imbalance of LREEs occurred during the study period, raising urgent needs to adjust the LREEs production quotas, seek other Ce applications, and eliminate illegal mining.

Carbon assessment of building shell options for eco self-build community housing through the integration of building energy modelling and life cycle analysis tools

To achieve the UK's net-zero carbon transition by 2050, new homes need to be designed to high energy efficiency standards and minimise life cycle carbon emissions. This study develops a method that integrates building energy modelling (BEM) and life cycle assessment (LCA) tools, IES Virtual Environment (IES VE) and One Click LCA, to conduct a life cycle assessment of the operational and embodied carbon impacts of a typical terraced building shell in an eco self-build community housing (ESBC) project, using Water Lilies as a case study. It evaluates and compares the 60-year life cycle carbon impacts of six design options that apply different insulation materials to the case study building shell. The results are based on grid-connected Future Energy Scenarios (FES) that have different carbon intensities predicted over time and the microgrid-connected Water Lilies Community Energy (WLCE) scenario that is operationally net-zero carbon. Depending on the FES, embodied carbon accounted between 59 and 80% of total emissions compared to 20–41% from operational carbon across design options. The results show that operational carbon is highly sensitive to the percentage of renewables in the energy mix of the grid, which is difficult to predict, and can significantly influence the design choice. As such, future researchers should account for predicted changes to the carbon intensity of the grid by applying a similar method to that proposed. Overall, the integration of IES VE and One Click LCA provided a more streamlined life cycle assessment to help inform early design decisions by enabling energy consumption simulation in BEM to assess operational carbon emissions and the automated transfer of building materials from the BEM model to the LCA tool to assess embodied carbon emissions. The limitations included the unavailability of material-specific data in early design stage plans, the inability to automatically transfer the timber frame structure from IES VE to One Click LCA, and the uncertainty of future energy trends.

Towards low‐carbon transition: Coordinating development and decarbonisation in rural logistics

AbstractOver the past decade, there is a growing global call for low carbon development. However, there is no adequate low‐carbon policies to address the trade‐off between rural logistics development and low‐carbon goals. Jiangsu is one of the pilot sites for most of China's policy reforms and has the potential to develop a low carbon transformation of rural logistics. Therefore, we provide an in‐depth analysis of the above trade‐offs from an industrial perspective by integrating the key features of rural logistics into a unified framework and modelling a rural logistics system dynamic model using rural logistics in Jiangsu as a case study. We compare the development trend of Jiangsu's rural logistics industry from 2021 to 2030 under the traditional development model, the green image policy, the fixed carbon policy and the fixed carbon tax rebate policy. The findings show that, first, in the absence of policy intervention, rural logistics in Jiangsu will not actively adopt any low‐carbon behaviour, which will lead to an inevitable rise in CO2. Second, the simulation results in fixed carbon policy show that the policies that impose excessive burdens on rural logistics are invalid rural logistics that need enough funds to develop their own supply capacity and carbon abatement capacity. Third, the green image policy is more advantageous in addressing the trade‐offs between rural logistics development and the low‐carbon transition, which not only avoids burdening rural logistics but also improves the supply capacity of rural logistics by increasing the demand for rural logistics. Finally, the government can implement the green image policy in the early stage and then introduce the carbon tax rebate policy in the middle stage to improve and increase the capacity of the rural logistics sector to embrace low carbon transition, which can help implement subsequently implement the carbon tax rebate policy.

Can urban digitalization significantly improve carbon emission efficiency?Evidence from 282 cities in China.

Urban digitalization is a critical focus for economic development and the low carbon transition. Recognizing how urban digitalization influences carbon emissions efficiency (CEE) is of great practical significance to high-quality urban development. Previous studies have lacked a systematic exploration of the internal mechanisms and dynamic effects of urban digitalization on CEE. Based on data from 2011 to 2019 at the municipal level in China, this paper adopts efficiency analysis and entropy value method to measure urban digitalization development and CEE and analyze their spatial-temporal evolution characteristics. Moreover, this paper empirically tests the overall, time, and spatial effects of urban digitalization on CEE, as well as the effect pathways. According to the findings, urban digitalization has a significant stimulative influence on CEE. The promotion effect shows a trend of increasing over time. Urban digitalization has a positive spatial spillover effect on the CEE of surrounding cities, which is conducive to accelerating the integration process of low-carbon development among cities. Urban digitalization improves CEE by raising the level of human and information communications technology capital and optimizing the industrial structures. The above conclusions still hold after robustness and endogenous tests. In addition, compared to cities in the eastern part of China and those with low levels of digitalization, those in the central and western parts of the country, and those with high levels of digitalization show a more significant boost to CEE as a result of urban digitalization. These discoveries have policy design reference value for the region to enhance its urban digitalization development strategy and achieve a transition to green development.

Mobility justice after climate coloniality: mobile commoning as a relational ethics of care

ABSTRACT This conceptual article argues for linking the concept of mobility justice to an analysis of climate coloniality and then seeks to build on recent feminist, Indigenous and Black studies of climate ethics. More just, equitable, and sustainable futures call for more than decarbonization or low carbon transitions. Situating the climate crisis within deeper political ecologies of colonialism, extractivism, and racial capitalism, the argument centers relational co-becoming, anti-extractivism, and mobile commoning as crucial to climate ethics that are inclusive of Indigenous and Afro-descendent cosmologies, as well as respectful of non-human mobilities and webs of life. Finally, it turns toward feminist, decolonial, Black, and Indigenous relational ontologies of transmotion and mobile commoning as a needed step beyond the existing global mobility regimes and toward the intentional decolonizing of extractive mobilities that have led to the contemporary climate crisis. The conclusion joins others in advocating for an ethics of care and for social science approaches that can coalesce the growing conversations on these issues across North America, Latin America, Australia, Oceania, Africa and beyond.

A worldwide analysis of the energy regulatory tasks and activities through the lenses of entropy and unsupervised statistical learning

This paper provides an overview of tasks and activities of world energy regulatory authorities, through their regional associations. Regulatory practices are investigated when looking at federal, state and national authorities’ replies to two surveys on electricity and gas markets. Empirical results show that the implementation of the energy regulation can be context-specific. Indeed, regulators’ powers and tools show diversity, even among groups of regulators belonging to the same regional associations and then expected to act homogeneously. To inspect the similarity across regulators, a statistical index and an unsupervised statistical learning technique are proposed. The usage of these two methods is recommended to inspect the status of the regulatory harmonization, and to inspect if uniformed and coordinated energy policy actions are achieved in view of global resolutions towards a low carbon transition, and delineated environmental and sustainable goals.

The unusual suspects: are well-meaning environmental stakeholders and institutions undercutting the contributions that companies can make to fighting climate change?

Abstract There is broad consensus that a significant majority of the capital needed to fund a low carbon transition consistent with science-based decarbonization timelines will have to come from the private sector. While still inadequate, the past decade-plus has seen a nonlinear increase in corporate capital spend in pursuit of voluntary climate goals. In the absence of significant regulatory mandates or meaningful carbon pricing, how this ‘corporate climate spend’ is directed is influenced—if not largely directed—by an array of emissions accounting rules, third-party defined leadership metrics and methodologies. This ‘rules and reward ecosystem’ is largely the design of environmental advocates, academics, and other aligned stakeholders and philanthropists. Sitting at the heart of this ecosystem is the Greenhouse Gas Protocol—a purported accounting framework that underpins how companies can undertake climate-based interventions and record progress. Launched by environmental stakeholders in 1998, the Protocol has since become the de facto rulebook used by highly influential third-party corporate leadership and target setting organizations, sustainability rating and evaluation entities serving the investment community, and is being incorporated into emerging mandatory corporate disclosure programs. Ironically, given its architects, today the rules and reward ecosystem results in significant mis-allocations and constraints on corporate climate spend and is reducing the potential climate change-mitigating impact of crucial private capital. This paper explores the flaws in incumbent greenhouse gas accounting and leadership program rules and proposes pathways for change that would better optimize the flow of private capital available and needed to address the climate crisis.

Niobium- and cobalt-modified dual-source-derived porous carbon with a honeycomb-like stable structure for supercapacitor and hydrogen evolution reaction

Designing porous carbon materials with tailored architecture and appropriate compositions is essential for supercapacitor (SC) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, Nb/Co-modified dual-source porous carbon (Nb/Co-DSPC) with a honeycomb structure was obtained by introducing a secondary carbon source (Co/Zn-ZIF) and transition metal Nb into activated Typha carbon (ATC). The addition of a secondary carbon source and Nb resulted in superior specific surface area (1272.38 m2/g), excellent hydrophilicity (34.73°) and abundant bimetallic active sites (Nb/Co-Nx) in Nb/Co-DSPC, providing excellent charge storage capacity and electrocatalytic activity. The Nb/Co-DSPC electrode displayed an outstanding capacitance of 337 F/g at 0.5 A/g and showed excellent stability after 15,000 charge–discharge cycles. In addition, Nb/Co-DSPC shows an overpotential of 114 mV at 10 mA cm−2, better than those of Co-DSPC (139 mV) and ATC (162 mV) alone. This study offers a reliable strategy for advanced multifunctional porous carbon electrode materials preparations.

Parameters study of carbon bombardment step for enhanced adhesion of thick DLC coating deposited by cathodic arc evaporation

The main limitation for the deposition of thick (> 5 μm) DLC coatings is to achieve adhesion to the substrate. In the present work, the adhesion of thick (~20 μm) amorphous carbon coatings was analyzed considering the combination of metallic chromium as bond layer and a carbon bombardment step before the deposition of the functional coating. The carbon bombardment step was included to generate an interfacial structure composed by a mixing layer of Cr and C and a carbon transition layer rich in sp2 bonds. The complete deposition process was made by cathodic arc and the substrate was nitrided steel. Different sets of parameters were used during the carbon bombardment to change the interfacial structure and to analyze the effect on adhesion. The parameters evaluated were the bias voltage, duration, cathode current and temperature. The adhesion of a-C layer was assessed by scratch tests and the interface structure was evaluated by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Results indicate that a lower bias voltage possibly increased the sp3 content of the carbon transition layer, mitigating the negative impact of a thicker carbon transition layer. Moreover, an increase in the carbon cathode current may increase the adhesion, possibly by an increase in the thickness of the mixing layer. Finally, improved adhesion was achieved when the temperature of the bombardment was reduced. A diagram of expected behavior for the adhesion (in terms of critical load during scratch tests) as a function of carbon transition layer thickness and sp-bonds was proposed based on the available results.

Introduce dimethyl ether (DME) as a solvent for steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) co-injection: An effective and environmental application

Conventional heavy oil and bitumen thermal recovery is currently facing increasing energy demands and climate-related challenges. Dimethyl ether (DME) as a renewable and sustainable solvent was recently proposed as a possible solution for a carbon transition to hydrogen economics. However, only limited studies with unclear mass transfer mechanisms have been conducted on DME and its co-injected on steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) optimization. In this study, a numerical model was developed to investigate the DME-based expanding-solvent SAGD (ES-SAGD) process to capture the complex mechanisms involved. The impact of temperature on relative permeability curves and coupled heat/mass transfer were further discussed in detail. The results of DME-based ES-SAGD and conventional SAGD were compared in terms of process performance and energy efficiency as well as carbon intensity. The optimal range of DME concentration was investigated to achieve the highest recovery factor, and with the assistance of DME carbon intensity can be reduced to one quarter to half of that in conventional SAGD. The study confirmed DME is a novel solvent that leads to the viable performance of ES-SAGD to meet carbon emission reduction objectives.

A study of management decisions to adopt emission reduction measures in heavy industry in an emerging economy

Heavy industry can face challenges in choosing applicable climate change mitigation measures due to a lack of technical background and practical guidance. A better understanding of these determinants is needed to design region-specific climate policies that most effectively enable more ‘successful’ low carbon transitions. Set in an emerging economy, this study aims to understand the determinants which underlie investment decision-making in greenhouse gas reduction. It relies on empirical research using an exploratory case study method in the leading cement company in Indonesia. The results show four key determinants influencing (constraining) adoption were (1) the primacy of profit-seeking objectives in operational planning and development; (2) the availability of sources (clinker substitutes and alternative energy fuels); (3) the limited access to cash capital; and (4) the complexity in implementing emissions reduction projects. The inquiry also compares determinants in an emerging and developed country to provide a comparative perspective on emissions management in manufacturing. It appears that firms from the industrial sector in emerging economies have investment strategies that are largely characterised by activities that accentuate achieving financial benefits or best value for money or cost savings in a short time frame, or ‘short-termism’. Currently, greenhouse gas emissions management activities tend to be second-preference strategies for firms in emerging economies, at least in the industrial manufacturing sector.

Multi-objective optimal dispatching of combined cooling, heating and power using hybrid gravitational search algorithm and random forest regression: Towards the microgrid orientation

In order to eventually reach the net-zero carbon target, the low carbon transition demands substantial growth in the penetration of renewable generation in energy systems. It is essential to have enough flexible resources to prevent the curtailment of energy systems with high intermittent renewable output to run consistently. Therefore, this study focuses on the multi-objective optimal dispatching model of combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) microgrid with power-to-gas (P2G). The structure of the CCHP microgrid and the working principle of P2G are studied and analyzed. First, briefly described the multi-objective optimal dispatch model of the CCHP microgrid with P2G established with the goal of operational and environmental cost. Second, a hybrid gravitational search algorithm and random forest regression (GSA-RFR) are introduced to find out the optimal values. The proposed model verifies that P2G improves the wind abandonment capacity of the CCHP microgrid operation system. Furthermore, it reduces environmental costs and transforms environmental values into economic benefits during system operation. Noting that, the GSA-RFR improves the system economy by 7.13% comparatively.