Utilization Of Renewable Resources Research Articles

Natural Polymers from Biomass Resources as Feedstocks for Thermoplastic Materials

AbstractWith the objective of a more sustainable circular economy, one long‐term goal is the utilization of renewable resources as feedstock for the production of polymer‐based materials. In order to successfully process such materials using existing industrial‐scale technologies or even recycling processes, the natural polymers must have thermoplastic properties. With only a few exceptions, natural polymers are not thermoplastic. However, chemical and physical modification techniques are able to induce thermoplasticity in natural polymers from biomass resources such as cellulose, lignin, and chitin. Modification techniques focus on masking the hydroxyl groups to disrupt dense hydrogen bonding and so enable polymer chain mobility upon heating. The introduction of long alkyl chains into the polymer backbone effectively improves the thermoplastic processing of natural polymers. With regard to polymer blending, chemical grafting and graft copolymerization are powerful tools for enhancing compatibility. For both chemical and physical modification, solvents such as ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents are currently being explored for biomass and fiber processing and show promise for the future development of thermoplastic biopolymers. This review describes possible modifications, potential processing difficulties, and gives a summary of relevant studies described in the scientific literature.

Adjusting the Reduction Potential of Electrons by Quantum Confinement for Selective Photoreduction of CO2 to Methanol

The production of CH3 OH from the photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (PCRR) presents a promising route for the clean utilization of renewable resources, but charge recombination, an unsatisfying stability and a poor selectivity limit its practical application. In this paper, we present the design and fabrication of 0D/2D materials with polymeric C3 N4 nanosheets and CdSe quantum dots (QDs) to enhance the separation and reduce the diffusion length of charge carriers. The rapid outflow of carriers also restrains self-corrosion and consequently enhances the stability. Furthermore, based on quantum confinement effects of the QDs, the energy of the electrons could be adjusted to a level that inhibits the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER, the main competitive reaction to PCRR) and improves the selectivity and activity for CH3 OH production from the PCRR. The band structures of photocatalysts with various CdSe particle sizes were also investigated quantitatively to establish the relationship between the band energy and the photocatalytic performance.

Adjusting the Reduction Potential of Electrons by Quantum Confinement for Selective Photoreduction of CO2 to Methanol

AbstractThe production of CH3OH from the photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (PCRR) presents a promising route for the clean utilization of renewable resources, but charge recombination, an unsatisfying stability and a poor selectivity limit its practical application. In this paper, we present the design and fabrication of 0D/2D materials with polymeric C3N4 nanosheets and CdSe quantum dots (QDs) to enhance the separation and reduce the diffusion length of charge carriers. The rapid outflow of carriers also restrains self‐corrosion and consequently enhances the stability. Furthermore, based on quantum confinement effects of the QDs, the energy of the electrons could be adjusted to a level that inhibits the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER, the main competitive reaction to PCRR) and improves the selectivity and activity for CH3OH production from the PCRR. The band structures of photocatalysts with various CdSe particle sizes were also investigated quantitatively to establish the relationship between the band energy and the photocatalytic performance.

Increased utilisation of renewable resources: dilemmas for organic agriculture

Minimising outputs of waste and pollution by recycling and efficient utilisation of renewable resources is of common interest for organic agriculture and the concepts of circular and bioeconomy. However, in practice, many efforts to increase recycling of various biological materials in organic agriculture are hampered because standards for certified organic production and processing tend to prefer natural products while avoiding processing and especially chemical processes. This creates several dilemmas and weakens the position of organic agriculture as a spear head in the development of a better resource utilisation which will reduce environmental impacts from food production. Based on practical examples derived from projects aimed at better utilisation of residual materials in various food chains, this paper presents some of these dilemmas. Our aim is to initiate a discussion among organic agriculture stakeholders about the regulations for organic production, how they restrict recycling and a better utilisation of valuable resources, and how this can be overcome.

Recent Advances in d-Lactic Acid Production from Renewable Resources: Case Studies on Agro-Industrial Waste Streams.

SUMMARYThe production of biodegradable polymers as alternatives to petroleum-based plastics has gained significant attention in the past years. To this end, polylactic acid (PLA) constitutes a promising alternative, finding various applications from food packaging to pharmaceuticals. Recent studies have shown that d-lactic acid plays a vital role in the production of heat-resistant PLA. At the same time, the utilization of renewable resources is imperative in order to decrease the production cost. This review aims to provide a synopsis of the current state of the art regarding d-lactic acid production via fermentation, focusing on the exploitation of waste and byproduct streams. An overview of potential downstream separation schemes is also given. Additionally, three case studies are presented and discussed, reporting the obtained results utilizing acid whey, coffee mucilage and hydrolysate from rice husks as alternative feedstocks for d-lactic acid production.

Sustainable ammonia production through process synthesis and global optimization

Current ammonia production technologies have a significant carbon footprint. In this study, we present a process synthesis and global optimization framework to discover the efficient utilization of renewable resources in ammonia production. Competing technologies are incorporated in a process superstructure where biomass, wind, and solar routes are compared with the natural gas‐based reference case. A deterministic global optimization‐based branch‐and‐bound algorithm is used to solve the resulting large‐scale nonconvex mixed‐integer nonlinear programming problem (MINLP). Case studies for Texas, California, and Iowa are conducted to examine the effects of different feedstock prices and availabilities. Results indicate that profitability of ammonia production is highly sensitive to feedstock and electricity prices, as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) restrictions. Under strict 75% GHG reductions, biomass to ammonia route is found to be competitive with natural gas route, whereas wind and solar to ammonia routes require further improvement to compete with those two routes. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 65: e16498 2019

Production and Purification of Water from Humid Air by Using Activated Carbon Method

Drinking Water scarcity is one of the leading issue in our growing world. The atmospheric air contains large amount of water in the form of water vapor, fog, mist etc.In which 30% of water is wasted.Under this situation the climatic conditions of many regions are suitable for generating water. This moisture content is processed by condensation principle to produce fresh water that may be used as distilled water in laboratory and further purification leads to drinking water purity level. Here cooling is produced by Peltier effect and hot air is passed to cooling medium and when it reaches dew point it start condensing water from air. The obtained water from air contain excess of contaminants such as bacteria, nitrate, nitrate, odor, ammonium etc.., these toxic substances are remove by using biofiltration method. In this research filter medium is constructed by extraction of Activated charcoal from coconut waste. . The main aim of our project is utilization of renewable resources that are already available in nature and turn back this energy into water. This project is design a device that can convert humid air directly into clean water.

Characterization of cement composites based on recycled cellulosic waste paper fibres

AbstractNowadays, there is paying an attention to the utilization of natural, renewable and biodegradable resources of raw materials of lignocellulosic character, residues from agricultural crops and wood processing as well as waste from papermaking industry in building composite materials preparing. Also recycled fibres coming from waste paper are considered as valuable material. The objective of this study is to utilize these recycled cellulosic fibres into cement composites and characterise their impact on resulting physical and mechanical properties of fresh and hardened cement composites. Manufactured cement composites contained 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.5% addition of cellulosic fibres. In fresh fibre cement mixtures reduction in workability with increasing amount of cellulose fibres was noticed. Density as well as compressive and flexural strength of 28 and 90 days hardened fibre cement composites was tested. Distribution of cellulosic fibres with 0.5% addition in hardened fibre cement composites was also observed. The results of density determination of 28 and 90 days hardened fibre cement composites showed reduction in their values related to weight lighter concretes. Compressive strengths of fibre cement composites have shown decreasing character with increasing added amount of cellulosic fibres into the mixture up to 0.5%. Maximal decrease in compressive strength values was observed in composites containing 0.5% of cellulosic fibres. However, obtained strength parameter values of hardened composites had satisfying results for their application in construction as non-load bearing building material.

Thalia dealbata Inspired Anisotropic Cellular Biomass Derived Carbonaceous Aerogel

Carbon aerogels with biomimetic structures have shown excellent physicochemical properties and brought great potential applications to a wide range of fields. The utilization of renewable resources as the carbon precursors offers a low-cost and scalable way to fabricate biomimetic carbon aerogels with intriguing properties such as ultralight weight, superelasticity, and high conductivity. Inspired by the unique hierarchical mineral bridge structure of Thalia dealbata stem, we fabricated an ultralight, superelastic, highly conductive carbon aerogel (KGA) by using konjac glucomannan and graphene oxide as the carbon precursors. The unique mineral-bridged layered structure not only endows the carbon aerogel with a low density of 4.2 mg cm–3 but also a high electrical conductivity (12.9 S m–1). In addition, the carbon aerogel also exhibits a superelastic property of 80% maximal strain and no obvious degradation after 1000 cycles of compression. We demonstrated that this Thalia dealbata inspired carbon aerogel ...

Economic and environmental benefits from integrated power grid infrastructure designs in the North Sea

The North Sea Offshore Grid (NSOG) is considered an important contributor towards large-scale integration of renewables and electricity market coupling. Different typologies have been studied for such a multinational power grid, ranging from radial point-to-point connections to more integrated meshed typologies. An artificial island enables a high level of integration of both offshore wind power and transnational trade due to economies of scale. This paper present multiple case studies of the Power Link Island (PLI) which is visioned by TenneT in the Doggerbank area. Our results demonstrate that the capabilities of such an island could add significant value to the system as a result of more efficient use of geographically spread, cost-efficient resources. However, depending on the future level of grid integration and generation mix, the added value of a PLI varies between e0.15bn to e20bn. Consequently, this could result in 18% more efficient utilization of renewable resources, primarily offshore wind, and significant reductions of CO2 emissions.

Synthesis and Reactivity of 1,2-Bis(di-iso-propylphosphino)benzene Nickel Complexes: A Study of Catalytic CO2–Ethylene Coupling

The utilization of renewable carbon dioxide resources in the production of commercial chemicals has been at the center of efforts to improve the sustainability of many widely used consumer products. The catalytic coupling of CO2 with ethylene to generate acrylates is one such avenue of research. Despite decades of investigations, catalytic CO2–ethylene coupling has only recently been experimentally demonstrated. The development of a new nickel-based catalyst, 1,2-bis(di-iso-propylphosphino)benzene nickel(0) 1,5-cyclooctadiene, for acrylate production is detailed here. The stoichiometric reactivity of the catalyst toward the CO2, ethylene, and base reagents, as well as the coordination chemistry of likely catalytic intermediates has been examined. Comparative catalytic experiments were used to identify the influence of commonly employed additives, such as metallic zinc and Lewis acidic salts, on the catalytic CO2–ethylene coupling reaction. In addition, catalytic comparisons of the 1,2-bis(di-iso-propylpho...

Fault-Tolerant Supervisory Controller for a Hybrid AC/DC Micro-Grid

In this paper, a fault-tolerant supervisory controller is proposed for a hybrid ac/dc micro-grid. In the hybrid micro-grid, dc sources, energy storage, and loads are connected to a main dc bus, while the ac sources and sinks are coupled with a main ac bus. A bidirectional converter/inverter exchanges power between both sides. Such structure should be supervised by a main controller or management system. In this approach, the power flow is supervised based on solving an optimization problem, while the maximum available powers for fault-free and erroneous wind, solar, and energy storage sub-systems are taken into account. It is shown that solar and wind sub-system failures affect maximum available powers from those resources. In order to satisfy the demanded power with maximum utilization of renewable resources, the tolerance of the proposed supervisory controller (SC) toward shading and converter faults in the solar system, and lubricant system failure and converter fault in the wind system is considered in the design procedure. Moreover, the tolerance of the proposed power management system toward energy storage failure in each micro-grid is also incorporated in the overall control scheme. Effectiveness of the proposed SC is evaluated through extensive simulation runs based on dynamical models of the power resources.

Urea treatment of nitrogen-doped carbon leads to enhanced performance for the oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

Strengthening Climate Change Cooperation between China and India: Significance and Cooperation Areas

In international climate negotiations, China and India are both members of the BASIC countries and Like Minded Group of Developing Countries (LMDC). In recent years, due to the different development levels, the two countries have differed in issues such as willingness to reduce emissions, peak emissions and funding. China tends to engage in international climate governance with a more proactive approach, while India, constrained by its development level, has continued to emphasize the traditional stance of a developing country. Although differences between the two sides on some issues have not yet led to the collapse of China–India climate cooperation, more efforts need to be made to further analyze and define the pursuits of both sides, future trends in their cooperation and priority areas for collaboration. In the authors’ opinion, the two countries still have common ground in seeking further socio-economic development and getting emission allowances, which will serve as the foundation for future climate cooperation. Strengthening the cooperation between China and India on climate change will not only help unite developing countries to fight for and safeguard their rights to equitable development, but also enhance the cooperative actions and bilateral ties between the two countries. Moreover, the cooperation may as well work as a potential platform where China can disseminate the idea of ecological civilization and promote the shift towards a green and low-carbon development model. In the post-Paris Agreement era, China should maintain and advance its cooperation with India on climate change, strengthen existing cooperation mechanisms and launch pragmatic cooperation programs in regard to equitable development, the utilization of renewable resources and research on ecological civilization.

A systematic literature review on less common natural fibres and their biocomposites

Abstract Interest in utilization of renewable resources is increasing because of public's environmental awareness and economic considerations. Lignocellulosic fibres have already attracted growing attention as reinforcement of polymeric matrices instead of synthetic ones (mainly glass) from the academic and industrial fields. In addition to kenaf, hemp, sisal, flax and jute, which are the subject of extensive investigations for composite applications since the 1970s, in the last years several researchers suggested the use of less common natural fibres, due to their low cost and availability. This paper reviews the extraction methods, chemical, morphological, thermal and mechanical properties of these less exploited natural fibres reported in literature, discussing their advantages and challenges through comparison against various traditional plant fibres. The introduction of these less common natural fibres in thermoplastic and thermosetting matrices is critically discussed and compared with several standard biocomposites. These renewable and less investigated plant fibres can also be regarded as a source of nanocellulose aimed to enhance the green character of the final composites, thus pushing the industry to move towards such environmentally friendly materials.

Evaporation Reduction from Water Reservoirs in Arid Lands Using Monolayers: Algerian Experience

The extremely high rate of evaporation from water surfaces in arid and semi-arid areas greatly reduces optimal utilization of water reservoirs. In Algeria, which is at 80% an arid country, water resources are scarce and renewable due to low annual precipitation. Considering the importance of optimal utilization of renewable water resources, about 70 dams with capacity of 7.4 billion m3 were constructed. One of the biggest problems of water in dams in Algeria is the huge amount of water loss through evaporation due to high evaporation rate. Therefore, applying techniques to reduce evaporation are greatly needed. One of the most recommended techniques for reducing evaporation is the application of a thin chemical film on the surface of the water. The present study aims to investigate the effect of this technique under arid conditions. Experiment was conducted for 20 weeks in Touggourt with three Colorado-type evaporation pans. Fatty alcohol with various doses were used in different pans. First pan was filled with water without adding fatty alcohol while in second pan, fatty alcohols was added with recommended concentration (0.3 kg/104 m2/day) and similarly in third pan fatty alcohol was added with concentration (0.5 kg/104 m2/day). The preliminary results of the study indicated that evaporation rate from surface water was reduced overall up to 16 and 22% in the second pan and the third one, respectively as compared to the non covered pan.

Optimization and energy management of a standalone hybrid microgrid in the presence of battery storage system

In this study, an optimal energy scheduling of a standalone microgrid under system uncertainties is investigated and several operational strategies are tested to evaluate the system performance. The main objective of the proposed optimization energy management system is to improve energy utilization efficiency, decrease system fuel cost and gas emissions reduction by planning generations of energy resources hourly for the next day. The system is modeled as a constrained single-objective optimization problem in order to minimize the operation and generated emission costs. Employing an advanced dynamic programming method, the optimization problem is solved. In order to achieve optimal utilization of renewable resources in a microgrid environment and system cost-effective operations, the effectiveness of a battery storage unit has to be examined. Two different operational policies are investigated to examine the system behavior, where the energy production of a microgrid is supplied by generation units with and without access to a battery storage system. The obtained results show a considerable reduction in system total cost and produced emissions when the MG has access to battery storage system in the proposed second policy. Simulation results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed technique in microgrid energy planning and implementation.

Perception, Utilization and Management of Renewable Natural Resources by Rural Women: A Brief Review

Natural resource management at household level assumes significance in effective utilization of scant resources. Over-exploitation of the country's resources like land, water, fuel etc. has resulted in degradation of resources mainly due to industrial pollution, soil erosion, deforestation and urbanization. Women have direct contact with natural resources like fuel, food and fodder, forest, water and land especially in rural areas where 70 percent of Indian population resides and directly dependent upon natural resources. Because women are the primary users of natural resources, their role in the management of renewable natural resources cannot be overlooked. Women are responsible for using these resources to satisfy the basic needs of their families. The scarcity of natural resources of water, fuel wood and fodder causes social tension and disturbances in the social system. This paper discusses the challenges in the management of renewable natural resources and participation and utilization of renewable natural resources by women who live in close association with these resources.

Evaluation of potential fossil fuel free energy system: Scenarios for optimization of a regional integrated system

Population growth and urbanization have led to increases in energy demand and consequently, greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the availability of the fossil fuel as the main source of energy supply has been changed. Utilization of renewable resources including solar, wind, and hydropower together with distributed energy systems could eliminate the dependency on fossil fuel energy sources. In this paper, energy use and supply trends have been studied for the Counties of Västmanland and Södermanland in Sweden in order to develop a scenario for the regional energy system in 2030. The aim is to use the scenario for evaluation of the impacts of regional renewable energy resources on the production planning of CHP plants. The scenario shows that there is not enough potential for electricity production from renewable resources such as solar, wind, and hydropower to fulfill the estimated demand in 2030. Around 75% of electricity needs in Västmanland and 89% of power demands in Södermanland need to be met by imported electricity to these regions. Efficiency improvements and a more complex energy system integrating also with other energy resources like biomass, waste and industrial waste heat are necessary to develop a sustainable energy system.

Performance of different Vermicomposts on yield and yield components of Mungbean {Vigna radiata L.) in major soils of Bundelkhand region, India

Sustainable agriculture is one in which the goal is permanence, achieved through the utilization of renewable resources. This leads to development of concept of organic natural farming. Vermicomposting is one of the important aspects of organic farming. Vermicompost plays a major role in improving growth and yield of different field crops, vegetables, flower and fruit crops. Present study was carried out in major soil group (black soil and red soil) of Bundelkhand region with addition of different vermicompost and their effects on performances of Vigna radiata L. GonA/th and yield parameters were measured 30 days and 60 days after sowing. Significant performances were found in cowdung based vermicompost in black soil in compare to red soil. The result of our experiment showed the application of vermicompost had significant positive effects on growth performances and yield of plant as compare to control