Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews最新文献

Greenhouses play a crucial role in food production and economic growth in northern regions but contribute significantly to energy consumption and carbon emissions. To address this challenge and enhance food production sustainably, there is a growing need for efficient and renewable energy solutions. Low-carbon heating in greenhouses will be achievable by using heat pumps powered by cost-effective renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic systems. This study introduces an open-source quasi-steady-state thermal model for greenhouses, non-ideal air-source heat pumps (ASHPs), and ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) with both vertical (V) and horizontal (H) ground heat exchangers. Additionally, a ventilation sub-model is provided to manage cooling loads for residential, semi-commercial, and commercial greenhouses. Furthermore, an open-source SAM-Python-based photovoltaic system model is developed to size photovoltaic arrays for powering the heat pumps. The study reveals a nonlinear relationship between greenhouse size and annual thermal loads. It also demonstrates that ASHPs exhibit the lowest efficiency (COP_h = 2.52, EER_c = 9.00), followed by VGSHPs (COP_h = 3.68, EER_c = 19.88), with HGSHPs being the most efficient (COP_h = 3.79, EER_c = 19.48) for the Canadian case study. The required on-grid photovoltaic ratings to power HGSHPs, VGSHPs, and ASHPs respectively are 2.16, 2.17, and 2.64 kW for residential, 103, 104, and 128 kW for semi-commercial, and 827, 831, and 1,028 kW for commercial greenhouses. Self-consumption of designed photovoltaic systems ranges from 23.5 % to 25.1 %, with self-sufficiency varying between 23.7 % and 26.0 %. The size of the photovoltaic system is competitive with similar scenarios; however, future studies are needed to conduct an economic analysis while simulating the dynamic loads of greenhouses.

This study reviews the advancements in nickel-based catalysts for carbon dioxide methanation, a key process for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting renewable energy. It explores the development of Ni-based catalysts, focusing on innovations in catalyst composition, structure, and operating conditions that address challenges like deactivation and low efficiency. This review presents a comprehensive analysis of the factors influencing catalytic performance, including the effects of supports, promoters, and structured catalysts, as well as environmental impacts such as energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. By comparing different catalysts and highlighting the benefits of structured catalysts like foams and monoliths, this work provides a new perspective on enhancing methane production efficiency. Key factors influencing catalyst activity are discussed, including basicity, bimetallic structures, particle size, feed gas composition (O₂, H₂O, SO_x and NO_x), and the impact of contaminants (siloxanes, NH₃, and halogenated compounds). The study addresses deactivation mechanisms, such as carbon deposition and sulfur poisoning, and proposes mitigation strategies. The review also discusses the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Ni-based catalysts, demonstrating their potential to minimize environmental impacts. This comprehensive approach offers valuable insights for advancing CO₂ methanation technology, contributing to sustainable energy production and aligning with global emissions targets and sustainable development goals.

Forests significantly contribute to climate change mitigation by acting as carbon sinks, sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide, and keeping it in soil and biomass. Covering 22 % of its land, African forests offer numerous benefits to millions of people. Nevertheless, they face threats from human activities like deforestation and degradation. A holistic approach encompassing social, economic, and environmental factors is necessary to sustain forests as carbon sinks for maximum carbon sequestration potential. This study used carbon dioxide emissions, forest loss and gain, and land use change to investigate the level of carbon dioxide emissions and their relationship to forest loss and climate change in Africa from 1992 to 2020. Using ArcGIS, land use change was reclassified, InVEST model calculated carbon storage and sequestration, and annual changes in forest cover were assessed using the K and S indices. In the last two decades, 77.36 % of African countries had greater forest losses than gains, leading to 32 × 10³ kha net loss, resulting in 15.73 Pg C of carbon dioxide emissions. Annual forest loss rate is 1.6 × 10³ kha, equivalent to 0.786 Pg C, and that of carbon storage and sequestration decreased to −0.69 and −1.37, respectively. Results indicate that deforestation, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, significantly contributes to carbon emissions, and persistent tropical deforestation will affect future greenhouse gas concentrations. This research provides a detailed spatiotemporal analysis, highlighting areas experiencing severe forest cover change and carbon loss, underscoring the importance of forest conservation in mitigating climate change, and promoting effective land management policies.

As the widespread of lithium-ion battery systems such as electric vehicles and energy storage systems, the number of safety incidents due to electrical faults are increasing. Many accident reports have demonstrated that arc faults have become one of the main triggers of LIB system accidents, however, the related studies are inadequate. In this study, an arc imitation system is employed to investigate the influence of different arc energies on battery safety valve, as well as the electrochemical characteristics of faulty batteries. The results show that the minimum arc power to breach the safety valve ranges from 110 to 441 W. The maximum temperature rise rate on the battery surface can exceed 15 °C/s with arc power of around 1000 W. Further, the testing of in-situ and ex-situ indicate the faulty batteries undergo degradation and failure due to that moisture in the air enters the battery interior, resulting in increased internal resistance, loss of active materials and cyclable lithium. Finally, the faulty battery has no valve opening during thermal runaway, and the ignition time is four hundred seconds earlier than that of the normal battery, indicating more severe fire dangers. The results are valuable for safety design of battery systems in relation to arc faults, as well as the characteristic for fault detection and early warning.

Energy supply stability in the industrial sector is crucial to maintain operational efficiency and avoiding costly disruptions. In the face of pressing environmental challenges, transitioning to sustainable, efficient, and eco-friendly energy sources is imperative. This study aims to assess the potential of industrial waste for bioenergy production in Khorasan Province, Iran, addressing the research gap of developing a comprehensive framework of criteria that was lacking in previous studies. Employing a combined technology and material assessment methodology, the research began with the collection and analysis of questionnaires to identify and weight critical criteria using Shannon Entropy and expert insights. The Additive Ratio Assessment method was then used to rank various types of industrial waste and technologies according to established value criteria. The Findings reveal that anaerobic digestion of organic waste emerges as the most viable bioenergy solution with an 85 % desirability score, followed by anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge and gasification of plastic waste, scoring 77.31 % and 69.41 %, respectively. The innovative aspect of this study is the development and implementation of five novel evaluation criteria, including process temperature, technology lifetime, production cost, waste collection cost, and waste separation cost, which have not been previously applied to the assessment of industrial waste for renewable energy production, especially in developing countries.

Plate heat exchangers are commonly used in various industrial applications, such as refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps, powerplants, and chemical industries. Plate heat exchangers are well known for their superior heat transfer performance, compactness, and low refrigerant charge. Despite offering several advantages, they suffer from flow maldistribution issues. The flow maldistribution can deteriorate both the heat transfer and pressure drop performance, ultimately resulting in a lower system efficiency where plate heat exchangers are deployed. The flow maldistribution issues become more pronounced when the heat exchanger size is relatively large and the number of plates is higher, limiting the deployment of plate heat exchangers in larger industrial systems. Consequently, analyzing and understanding the flow maldistribution behavior in plate heat exchangers and finding ways to mitigate flow maldistribution related issues become essential topics of interest. This review aims to address the effect of flow maldistribution on plate heat exchanger characteristics. First, the experimental and numerical works on flow maldistribution under single-phase and two-phase conditions are detailed. Subsequently, the end-channel and end-plate effects are discussed. Then, the methods to mitigate flow maldistribution in plate heat exchangers are outlined. Finally, based on a thorough literature survey and industrial requirements, future research directions are recommended.

This study investigates the potential of biofuels to mitigate the environmental impact of passenger vessels. Employing a life cycle assessment methodology, this research comprehensively analyzes the environmental footprint of various fuels throughout the life cycle of a passenger vessel, encompassing construction, fuel production, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning. This study demonstrates the application of life cycle impact assessment to evaluate the environmental footprint of a bio-fueled passenger vessel operating on the Baltic Sea route from Tallinn-Helsinki, Helsinki-Åland, and Åland-Stockholm, totaling a round-trip distance of around 700 nautical miles. Ten different fuels, including several biofuel options, were evaluated using two established impact assessment methodologies. This life cycle assessment study focused on five major environmental impact categories: eutrophication, ozone depletion, climate change, and human and eco-toxicity. A comparative analysis encompassed Heavy fuel oil, bio-hydrotreated vegetable oil, bio-dimethyl ether, marine diesel oil, biodiesel, liquefied natural gas, methanol, bio-methanol, ethanol, and bio-ethanol. Based on impact categories like Global warming potential (GWP 100) and Global temperature potential (GTP 100), the findings suggest significantly lower environmental impacts of biofuels than all other fuel options. Notably, biofuels significantly reduced environmental impact, ranging from 70 % to 90 % per tonne-kilometer across most categories. These results highlight the promise of biofuels as a sustainable alternative fuel source for the maritime transportation sector, potentially reducing their environmental footprints significantly. In summary, biofuels offer a pragmatic and timely approach to enhancing passenger vessels' sustainability and operational efficiency amidst the maritime sector's transition towards a cleaner future.

The recalcitrance and physiochemical complexity of lignocellulosic biomass limit its hydrolysis and subsequent anaerobic digestion to produce biomethane. Restricted lignocellulose hydrolysis reduces the substrate supply to catabolic pathways of anaerobic digestion, altering the indigenous digester microbiota by affecting the syntrophy between hydrolytic, acidogenic, and acetogenic bacterial and methanogenic archaeal communities. This can considerably impede the maximum utilization of this potential biomass resource, resulting in poor biomass-to-biomethane conversion. Bioaugmentation of anaerobic digestion with potent lignocellulolytic microbes can enhance rate-limiting hydrolytic pathways to convert lignocellulosic biomass into biomethane efficiently. Bioaugmentation can enrich lignocellulose-degrading microbiota in digesters through complementary metabolic and transcription processes. Although the positive roles of bioaugmentation in improving lignocellulose digestion have been well-established, efforts are still underway to properly attribute the role of bioaugmentation to specific microbiota compositions and their metabolic functions. Assessing the stability, dynamics, and specific metabolic roles of different microbial guilds of the bioaugmenting lignocellulolytic microbiota and their intricate interactions with the indigenous microbiota, along with deterministic process factors, is pivotal for the successful real-scale execution of bioaugmented lignocellulose digestion. To clarify, studies have adopted an integrated approach of high-throughput meta-omics to identify the unique metabolic functional niches filled by core microbial communities in bioaugmented digester microbiota. Enhanced bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass into methane can considerably contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals by addressing affordable and clean energy production. This review emphasizes the significance of lignocellulolytic microbiotas in bioaugmentation of anaerobic digestion and the understanding of their ecological functions in the intricate interspecies nexus during biomethanation.

The development of botanical biofilters in the light of climate change issues, which can couple the advantage of C-capture from polluted air with their waste biomass valorization, is emerging. This paper evaluates the changes in physical-chemical-biological profile of aerial plants involved in such biosystems, for highlighting their functionality in the presence of chemical pollution, while providing new opportunities for process approaches in the light of circular economy. Leaf samples from T. xerographica involved in a botanical biofiltration system treating toluene in waste air have been examined in this regard, pointing out the morphological, structural and thermal particularities governing the plant performing in such biosystems. Leaf traits were particularly addressed by exploring the related plant functionality by rapport to trichome, lignin, nitrogen, pigment and thermochemical product evolving, providing new insights for waste air treatment development, biowaste generation/minimizing and biowaste valorization pathways. Based on this study, new horizons for efficient carbon valorization from waste biomass issued in biofiltration systems, are revealed.

Renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, water and geothermal are abundant and replenished by nature, making them crucial for both present and future sustainable energy needs while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, environmental pollution and can mitigate adverse climate change. This review work focusses on the recent applications of nanotechnology in energy production from renewable and sustainable energy sources. The recent advances in the application of nanoparticles and their nanofluids in solar panels, waste heat recovery, fuel cells, wind and hydropower turbines, and geothermal energy are discussed in detail. Moreover, this review highlights the role of nanotechnology in the conversion of biomass to bioenergy and biogas upgrading techniques. In addition, contribution of nanotechnology in carbon dioxide capture via various methods have also been discussed, which is closely associated with renewable energy production. This research reviewed various nanofluids for heat transfer across different equipment used in renewable energy production, comparing their performance to aid in nanoparticle selection for specific tasks. The review article explicitly addresses challenges in applying nanofluids for renewable energy, bridging the gap between nanotechnology and renewable energy generation. While nanoparticle applications hold promise for industries, challenges must be addressed for their full integration into industrial processes. Currently, nanofluid use in wind and hydropower energy is limited, but research potential exists for lubricating agent applications and energy recovery.