Utilization Of Renewable Sources Research Articles

Energy mix management: A new look at the utilization of renewable sources from the perspective of the global energy transition

Energy mix management: A new look at the utilization of renewable sources from the perspective of the global energy transition

Site suitability assessment for the development of wind power plant in Wolaita area, Southern Ethiopia: an AHP-GIS model

The primary driver of economic growth is energy, predominantly derived from fossil fuels, the demand for which has experienced a significant increase since the advent of the Industrial Revolution. The emissions of hazardous gases resulting from the utilization of these fuels have been well acknowledged, therefore exerting a notable impact on the environment. In the context of Ethiopia, it is observed that despite the presence of ample renewable resources, the accessibility to power continues to be constrained. In order to effectively tackle this issue, it is imperative to redirect attention towards the utilization of renewable sources, such as wind energy, as a means of enhancing the existing power grid infrastructure. The present study used geospatial tools to evaluate the appropriateness of the Wolayita region for the establishment of a wind power facility. The process of site selection is guided by multiple factors, and a multi-criteria approach is facilitated through the utilization of Geographic Information System (GIS). The evaluation of seven characteristics was conducted utilizing the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology, which involved pairwise comparisons and weighted scoring. The process of suitability mapping involves the classification of locations into four distinct categories, which range from the most suitable to the least suitable. The findings demonstrate that the area of 0.628% (28.00 km2) is deemed the most suitable, while 54.61% (2433.96 km2) is considered somewhat acceptable. Additionally, 0.85% (37.85 km2) is identified as the least suitable, leaving a remaining 43.91% (1060.00 km2) that is deemed unsuitable. The central, northwestern, and southern regions are identified as optimal geographic areas. The results of this study facilitate the process of investing in renewable energy, thereby assisting Ethiopian authorities and organizations in promoting sustainable development. This report serves as a crucial reference point for the wind energy industry.

Assessment of Renewable Sources of Energy for Residential Estate in Lagos State

The study investigated the use of renewable energy sources for residential estates in Lagos state; identified the available energy sources in the study area, determined the factors influencing the choice and utilization of renewable sources in the study area and examined the level of satisfaction derived from the chosen energy source by residents of Lagos state. The study was aimed at investigating the possibility of making energy available for residential estates dwellers from renewable energy sources so as to enhance uninterrupted energy supply and promote sustainability. To achieve the aim and objectives of the study, both primary and secondary data were used. The study made use of primary data collected by administration of e-questionnaire (google form) to building users. Data collected included energy source used by residents, the level of awareness of residents about various renewable sources, average amount of money spent on energy monthly, daily hours of energy supply, level of satisfaction derived from energy sources used. Data collected were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social it was analyzed using frequencies, mean score and tables. The result from the sources of energy used by residents in Lagos state revealed that 74% of buildings make use of generators alongside the energy provided from national grids. The result from the number of hours of energy supply daily revealed that residents only have access to electricity being an end use of energy for maximum of 8 hours. The level of awareness of residents revealed that 51.7%, 21.2%, 17.2%, 10.3%, 17.7% and 30.5% of the respondents are well informed about a possibility of generating energy from solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, biogas, and hydropower respectively. To promote the use of energy generated from renewables, the study made recommendations for intensified awareness schemes on the socioeconomic and environmental benefits of renewable energy sources, adequate investment in critical areas of renewable R&D and policy adjustments to create an investor friendly environment to attract greater renewable energy investment.

Recent Trends in the Optimization of Renewable Distrib-uted Generation: A Review

Distributed energy resources, or distributed generation (DG), are the mainstay of modern power systems aiming towards green energy generation via the effective integration of renewable energy sources. DG involvement in traditional power systems comprises the enhancement of power quality parameters, the utilization of renewable sources, cost optimization, and stable and reliable energy generation. The advantages of such a revolutionary approach can be achieved with the optimal sizing and allocation of DG by means of adequate optimization techniques, constraints, and optimized parameters. In this study, a comprehensive review of DG optimization is presented in light of recent developments, and a comparison is carried out based on the adopted optimization techniques, test system, enhanced parameters, and outcome evaluations.

Sustainable Biodegradable Plastics and their Applications: A Mini Review

Rising concern towards health and environmental menace caused by plastic wastes has fascinated scientists and chemists to find out greener and sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics. The conventional plastics are produced from crude oil and fossil fuels and ever-increasing demand of plastics results in depletion of these natural resources. Moreover, due to non-biodegradable in nature they persist in environment for a long time. A novel, eco-friendly and sustainable substitute to the traditional petro based plastic is biodegradable plastic which can be obtained from renewable and biogenic raw materials such as biomass, starch, wood pulp and vegetable oils. The utilization of renewable sources, their similar applications as conventional plastics, biodegradability, nontoxic properties and high recyclability are the major advantages for the use of biodegradable plastics. They are used for a large variety of applications in various sectors such as, packing, textiles, consumer goods, agriculture and horticulture, automotive and transport, coatings and adhesives, construction, electrical and electronics, medical, food packaging etc. In this mini review various biodegradable plastics, their attainable properties and applications in a wide variety of fields are summarized.

A review on various types of densification/briquetting technologies of biomass residues

The growing development, industrialization and population is the main reason of the increment in the global power demand around the world. The conventional power resources are limited and not eco-friendly as well as diminished in the future. Now, every country is move towards the more utilization of renewable energy resources. The biomass renewable energy source is one of them. The biomass residues material can be utilized for the production of power and also overcome the problem of decomposition of agricultural wastes and other wastes products by conversion into solid biomass fuels. The conversion of scattered agricultural residues/wastes into the useful product (biomass fuel) through the technology known as densification. The densification process supports the more utilization of renewable source and clean energy demands. The environmental challenges related with burning of biomass residues in the open field can be minimized by the densification of biomass residues. The densification is the process of compaction or densifying the biomass residues or waste through the application of various pressure levels. The challenges associated with handling, storage and transportation of biomass residues can also be minimize by densification technology. Briquettes and pellets are the end product of densification applications. The various types of densification pressure application and comparison have been discussed in the paper.

Heat transfer augmentation of triplex type latent heat thermal energy storage using combined eccentricity and longitudinal fin

The universe has shifted its focus from non-renewable to renewable energy sources from the last decade. The limited availability of fossil fuels and pollution is the reason behind the utilization of renewable sources. A major renewable energy source, solar energy, requires efficient thermal energy storage due to its intermittent nature. Phase change material (PCM) can store a large amount of heat by changing its phases. However, the low thermal conductivity of PCM makes its usage very limited. Hence, PCM's heat transfer augmentation technique using eccentricity and fin is studied in the present research. First of all, positive (lower displacement of the inner tube) and negative eccentricity (upper displacement of the inner tube) are studied in triplex type latent heat thermal energy storage (TTLHTES). Among the eccentricities of -15 mm to +15 mm, the eccentricity of +10 mm is found most effective in melting with a 27.63% reduction in melting time, while -3 mm eccentricity is found most effective in solidification with a 12.82% reduction in solidification time. The combination of fins with eccentricity is examined for melting and solidification enhancement. The combination of fin and eccentricity efficiently reduces melting time, with a maximum decrement of 67.37% with +3 mm eccentric TTLHTES with four fins. However, the only fin without any eccentricity is found more effective in solidification enhancement. The solidification time is reduced maximum by 46.15% using four longitudinal fins and no eccentricity. It can be concluded that fin and eccentricity must be coupled when melting time is required to enhance. However, only fin must be utilized when solidification is more critical.

Bioplastics are revolutionizing the packaging industry

The production of bioplastics is a growing trend. The utilization of renewable sources, in some cases currently wasted, to replace petroleum derivatives, is providing opportunities to achieve more environmentally friendly product life cycles. The possibility of producing biodegradable products under normal environmental conditions is another goal of recent studies. This editorial summarizes current aspects in the production of bioplastics. We highlight new studies that make it possible to obtain biodegradable composites using a natural, renewable, high availability, and low-cost material, such as cellulose.

Prioritization of Decentralized Renewable Energy Technologies for Rural Areas of Bundelkhand Region, India Using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

Bundelkhand region is located in the central part of India and its rural energy demand depends mainly on the non-renewable energy resources while renewable energy resources are abundantly available in this region. The utilization of renewable sources is the demand of time because non-renewable energy resources are limited in amount and cause environmental pollution as well as health problems also. Rural energy planning with the implementation of renewable technology helps to attain in sustainable development. The decentralized renewable energy technologies can play a major role to meet the rural energy demand of the country . The objective of this study is met by the identification and prioritization of the potential renewable energy technologies for rural areas of this region. Prioritization of potential renewable energy technologies for this region is done with the help of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). AHP introduced by Thomas L. Saaty, is one of the most widely used multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) tool in sustainable energy planning. AHP may help the decision-makers to set the priority and make the finest decision. This study identifies the various merit and demerit of the potential renewable energy technologies, namely anaerobic digestion, solar photovoltaic and biomass gasification and emphasizes the application of AHP in prioritization of the potential renewable energy technologies for rural areas in this region. The result of this research shows that solar photovoltaic can play a vital role in sustainable development in this region and it will also show a direction to policymaker and research scholar for analyzing rural energy planning in the most effective and efficient way.

Hybrid Adsorption-Compression Systems for Air Conditioning in Efficient Buildings: Design through Validated Dynamic Models

Hybrid sorption-compression systems are gaining interest for heating/cooling/ refrigeration purposes in different applications, since they allow exploiting the benefits of both technologies and a better utilization of renewable sources. However, design of such components is still difficult, due to the intrinsic complexity of the systems and the lack of reliable models. In particular, the combination of adsorption-compression cascade unit has not been widely explored yet and there are no simulations or sizing tools reported in the literature. In this context, the present paper describes a model of a hybrid adsorption-compression system, realised in Modelica language using the commercial software Dymola. The models of the main components of the sorption and vapour compression unit are described in details and their validation presented. In addition, the integrated model is used for proving the feasibility of the system under dynamic realistic conditions and an example of the technical sizing that the model is able to accomplish is given.

The economic cost of unreliable grid power in Nigeria

The ever-increasing demand for electrical power in Nigeria, coupled with a limited supply, have restricted the nation's socioeconomic development. The country’s policymakers, aware of this, have formulated and enacted energy development policies in recent years targeted at diversifying the current electricity mix and increasing electrification to rural settlements.Despite these efforts, electricity infrastructure projects have been sidelined, power outages are common and grid unreliability is costing industry significant amounts to secure the electricity supply necessary for business sustainability and profitability.This paper presents the current state of the electricity industry in Nigeria and argues the case for integration of renewable energy technologies. A case study is presented based on electricity cost information collected from a survey of Nigerian industry. Three future electricity supply scenarios are presented: a do-nothing or business-as-usual scenario; a scenario of increased reliance on grid power due to improvements in reliability; and a scenario involving shifting some of the current diesel on-site generation to solar photovoltaics. It is shown that increasing the utilization of renewable sources could significantly reduce the costs and CO2 emissions incurred due to the current reliance on self-generation, primarily using diesel generators, amidst grid unreliability.

Potential of biogas energy from animal waste in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey

Continuous growth in global energy demand, depletion of fossil resources and climate change concerns associated with fossil fuel combustion have increased the motivation on utilization of renewable energy sources. Utilization of renewable sources is vital in Turkey as the country highly depends on imported energy. Biogas is a renewable energy resource produced from decomposing organic waste under anaerobic conditions. Production of biogas from organic wastes such as animal manure is advantageous to contribute renewable energy production and waste management strategies for health and environmental protection. In this study, the animal manure based biogas energy potential of the Mediterranean Region of Turkey is determined. The region is composed of eight provinces including Antalya, Burdur, Isparta, Mersin, Adana, Hatay, Osmaniye and Kahramanmaraş. The results revealed that Mediterranean Region has 183 Mm3 annual biogas potential corresponding to 0.08 MTOE/year energy generation capacity. Co-digestion of agricultural residues can contribute to about 0.208 MTOE/year energy generation. It is determined that biogas production can contribute reduction of carbon footprint by 1.7 million tons of annual CO2 emissions. Mersin Province has shown the highest biogas potential in the region.

Carbon-Coated Silicon Powders Prepared from Recycled Silicon Ingot Slicing Slurries and Biomass for Negative Electrode Materials of Li-Ion Batteries

Silicon has the potential to replace the graphite as the anode material for LIB due to its high specific capacity and proper working voltage. However, the dramatic volume expansion during the Li-ion insertion and extraction has caused the poor cyclic stability. To improve the cyclic stability of Si anode, we embedded Si into a carbon matrix to form a Si-C composites. In this study, the silicon powders of micrometer size recovered from the silicon ingot slicing slurries and lignin, which is by-product of pulp industry, are employed to fabricate negative electrodes for lithium ion battery. The biomass would well mix with Si particles by magnetic stirring and ultrasonication, and then undergo a pyrolysis process to form Si-C composites. Depends on different carbonaceous precursors, the composites have different structures. The lignin-based Si particles are coated with a carbon layer, and the layer can not only suppress the volume change but also increase the electronic conductivity. The composite electrode exhibits outstanding cycle performance for capacity retention up to 60% after 51 cycles at 300 mA/g. On the other hand, the pyrolyzed lignocellulose formed an interconnected structure with Si particles, which provide extra space to accommodate Si volume variation. It showed excellent electrochemical performance with an initial charge capacity up to 1937 mAh/g and retaining 1275 mAh/g after 100 cycles at 300 mA/g. The utilization of renewable sources and industrial wastes for energy storage materials is well demonstrated in this study.

The Emergy Perspective of Sustainable Trends in Puerto Rico From 1960 to 2013

Emergy analysis quantifies the direct and indirect contributions of nature to human systems providing a sustainability assessment framework, which couples economic growth within biophysical constraints. In this study, Puerto Rico's sustainability was assessed with emergy flow dynamics from 1960 to 2013. During this period, the island shifted from an agriculture-based economy to an industrial base of manufacture and services (1960–1970). The emergy analysis indicated an exponential decline in sustainability during this period. From 1975 to 1992, the island became more industrialized and imported more goods and services. Since 1998, although more renewable production such as forest regeneration occurred, the rapid industrialization heavily relied on imported fossil fuels, goods, and services, resulting in a system that has not been self-sufficient, nor sustainable. The latest economic crisis and the most recently passed financial rescue bill represent an opportunity to redirect Puerto Rico towards a sustainable path with policies that decrease the ratio of imported y to exported emergy, and strategies that encourage efficient use of resources and local production based on the utilization of renewable sources within this U.S. territory.

Crystalline Polyesters from CO2 and 2-Butyne via α-Methylene-β-butyrolactone Intermediate

The selective transformation of carbon dioxide into useful chemicals has attracted much attention in recent decades due to the economic and environmental benefits arising from the utilization of renewable source. Nevertheless, the reactions on incorporating CO2 into polymeric materials are very limited. The copolymerization of CO2 and alkynes to synthesize degradable polyesters is a thermodynamically unfavorable process, since the propagation step involving CO2 is a major obstacle. Herein, we report a strategy to conquer the thermodynamic and kinetic barriers for the copolymerization of CO2 and 2-butyne via α-methylene-β-butyrolactone (MβBL) intermediate. Subsequent ring-opening polymerization of the lactone intermediate mediated by achiral Salen aluminum complexes afforded syndiotactic-enriched polyesters with controllable molecular weight and narrow polydispersity. Notably, the resultant syndiotactic-enriched poly(MβBL) is a typical semicrystalline material. The present method provides access to a new c...

Experimental study of a three-adsorber sorption refrigerator for utilization of renewable sources of energy

A three-adsorber refrigerator has been created and experimentally tested, in which use is made of a composite sorbent consisting of activated carbon fiber and alkali salts. This sorbent has a high capacity of storage of refrigeration characteristic of chemical coolers and a high sorption rate characteristic of adsorption refrigerators. The sorbent structure makes it possible to effect a convective intrapore process of cooling of the sorbent through intense two-phase heat transfer. A three-adsorber refrigerator has a higher refrigeration efficiency and smaller mass and overall dimensions than a traditional two-stage four-adsorber refrigerator.

An Innovative Reconfigurable Integrated Converter Topology Suitable for Distributed Generation

The electricity market and environmental concerns, with wide utilization of renewable sources, have improved the diffusion of distributed generation units changing the operations of distribution grids from passive networks to microgrids. A microgrid includes a cluster of electrical loads, energy storage devices and microsources, which provide both power and heat to their local area. A microgrid has usually one connection point to the utility grid through power electronic converters placed at customers’ sites. This paper analyses a Reconfigurable Integrated Converter (RIC) used for a domestic microgrid with inputs from the AC mains and photovoltaic arrays, and two DC outputs at different voltage levels. A RIC as a dual-boost DC-DC converter is proposed, modelled and analysed in the paper. The advantages of such a topology in comparison with traditional boost converters are outlined. Reported simulations results give evidence on the controllability of this converter and the capability of achieving the desired voltage outputs with reduced ripple.

Efficient and environmentally friendly energy systems for microregions

Maximum possible utilization of renewable sources as well as minimization of waste production and preference of recycling is definitely a positive trend. Global economic crisis, however, has brought about several aspects that have been neglected before. It is difficult to find a market for much of the sorted PET bottles and paper; thus sorting itself and recycling unfortunately lose their meaning. This gives rise to the question as to whether current procedures and technologies are appropriate or not. This article tries to offer a new approach which lies in maximizing waste processing (sorting, recycling, incineration, etc.) at the site of its production, along with an emphasis on maximizing efficiency of waste treatment by minimization of transport distances, labour costs and use of synergic effects of several different technologies in an open central controlled system called “MICROREGION”.