Energy nexus最新文献

Ultrathin Zinc cobalt oxide nanowalls for supercapacitive energy storage applications

IF 8 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Energy nexus

Pub Date : 2025-04-23 DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100439

Bashar Aljawrneh , Borhan Aldeen Albiss , Amani Al-Othman , Muhammad Tawalbeh , Abdelelah Alshanableh , Saja Alrousan , Rawan Hayajneh

The development of efficient energy storage devices with enhanced performance and stability is crucial to advance the next generation energy applications. Supercapacitors are of particular interest due to their fast charge-discharge cycles and durability that make them ideal for portable electronic devices and renewable energy systems. While functional, supercapacitors are often fabricated from high-cost materials. This work aims at synthesizing a lower cost, supercapacitor based on ultrathin zinc-cobalt (ZC) oxide nanowalls supported on a copper tape (Cu) via a hydrothermal method. The structural and electrochemical characteristics were evaluated for energy storage applications. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) confirmed the formation of ultrathin ZC/Cu nanowalls with a surface roughness of 233 nm, while elemental analysis (XRF) revealed the presence of 32.3 % zinc and 67.7 % cobalt. The crystallinity degree of the prepared samples was examined via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and showed enhanced properties. The electrochemical analysis demonstrated an optimum specific capacitance of 205 F/g at a scanning rate of 10 mV/s within a potential window ranging from 0.0 (V) to 0.7 (V). The galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) curves exhibited an asymmetric triangular-like shape. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data showed a low transfer resistance of 13Ω, demonstrating efficient transport of ions at the electrolyte/electrode interface. The results reported in this work suggest that the prepared ZC/Cu materials are promising for supercapacitive energy storage applications.

{"title":"Ultrathin Zinc cobalt oxide nanowalls for supercapacitive energy storage applications","authors":"Bashar Aljawrneh , Borhan Aldeen Albiss , Amani Al-Othman , Muhammad Tawalbeh , Abdelelah Alshanableh , Saja Alrousan , Rawan Hayajneh","doi":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100439","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100439","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of efficient energy storage devices with enhanced performance and stability is crucial to advance the next generation energy applications. Supercapacitors are of particular interest due to their fast charge-discharge cycles and durability that make them ideal for portable electronic devices and renewable energy systems. While functional, supercapacitors are often fabricated from high-cost materials. This work aims at synthesizing a lower cost, supercapacitor based on ultrathin zinc-cobalt (ZC) oxide nanowalls supported on a copper tape (Cu) via a hydrothermal method. The structural and electrochemical characteristics were evaluated for energy storage applications. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) confirmed the formation of ultrathin ZC/Cu nanowalls with a surface roughness of 233 nm, while elemental analysis (XRF) revealed the presence of 32.3 % zinc and 67.7 % cobalt. The crystallinity degree of the prepared samples was examined via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and showed enhanced properties. The electrochemical analysis demonstrated an optimum specific capacitance of 205 F/g at a scanning rate of 10 mV/s within a potential window ranging from 0.0 (V) to 0.7 (V). The galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) curves exhibited an asymmetric triangular-like shape. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data showed a low transfer resistance of 13Ω, demonstrating efficient transport of ions at the electrolyte/electrode interface. The results reported in this work suggest that the prepared ZC/Cu materials are promising for supercapacitive energy storage applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":93548,"journal":{"name":"Energy nexus","volume":"18 ","pages":"Article 100439"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143873864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Unveiling the effects of electric field treatments on crop cultivation: a game-changing sustainable energy strategy for plant pathogen eradication and boosting yield growth in agriculture, validated with an artificial intelligence approach

IF 8 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Energy nexus

Pub Date : 2025-04-23 DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100438

S.S. Jayakrishna , S. Sankar Ganesh

Discovered novel energy contact patterns in agriculture for banana crop cultivation, the power of electro-culture-based electrified farming witnessed the incredible results of plant pathogen control, which boosts banana yield growth and enhances food safety. Project E-Grow involves real-time agricultural practices, providing electrical conductivity to crops for 9 h/Day for 275 days up to the final harvest. The electrified Triangular Farming (ETF) approach delivers the effects of electrical phenomena on the termination of pathogenic nematodes. The results are validated through a computer vision-based model that improved YOLO-v8 by redesigning the c2f function and employing deep learning techniques with a self-developed Banana Pathogenic Nematode (BPN) dataset. This model achieved a precision of 85 %, a recall of 87.3 %, and an mAP50 of 81 %, scoring highly in comparison to other versions of YOLO-v8n, m, and l size. The experiment included two different (T) treatments based on power energization contact with crops. T1 used Static Electricity Treatment (SET) and T2 employed Rhizosphere Electrode Treatment (RET) with anode and cathode terminals inserted into the soil. The direct power discharging throughout the plant and soil protects the crop from parasite invasion. Significant protein increases were observed in Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) analysis on electrified banana plants. Further, the electrified plants produced early flowering fruit bunches faster and healthier than those in non-treated (control) zones. Live controlled by the Internet of Things (IoT) using microscopy image analysis and Programmable DC Power Supply (PDPS) digital data. Comprehensively, this study discloses various electric patterns and aids farmers in employing electrified cultivation cost-effectively, offering a promising future for agriculture.

{"title":"Unveiling the effects of electric field treatments on crop cultivation: a game-changing sustainable energy strategy for plant pathogen eradication and boosting yield growth in agriculture, validated with an artificial intelligence approach","authors":"S.S. Jayakrishna , S. Sankar Ganesh","doi":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100438","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100438","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Discovered novel energy contact patterns in agriculture for banana crop cultivation, the power of electro-culture-based electrified farming witnessed the incredible results of plant pathogen control, which boosts banana yield growth and enhances food safety. Project E-Grow involves real-time agricultural practices, providing electrical conductivity to crops for 9 h/Day for 275 days up to the final harvest. The electrified Triangular Farming (ETF) approach delivers the effects of electrical phenomena on the termination of pathogenic nematodes. The results are validated through a computer vision-based model that improved YOLO-v8 by redesigning the c2f function and employing deep learning techniques with a self-developed Banana Pathogenic Nematode (BPN) dataset. This model achieved a precision of 85 %, a recall of 87.3 %, and an mAP50 of 81 %, scoring highly in comparison to other versions of YOLO-v8n, m, and l size. The experiment included two different (T) treatments based on power energization contact with crops. T1 used Static Electricity Treatment (SET) and T2 employed Rhizosphere Electrode Treatment (RET) with anode and cathode terminals inserted into the soil. The direct power discharging throughout the plant and soil protects the crop from parasite invasion. Significant protein increases were observed in Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) analysis on electrified banana plants. Further, the electrified plants produced early flowering fruit bunches faster and healthier than those in non-treated (control) zones. Live controlled by the Internet of Things (IoT) using microscopy image analysis and Programmable DC Power Supply (PDPS) digital data. Comprehensively, this study discloses various electric patterns and aids farmers in employing electrified cultivation cost-effectively, offering a promising future for agriculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":93548,"journal":{"name":"Energy nexus","volume":"18 ","pages":"Article 100438"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143876954","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Distillation study of light bio-oil from palm fresh fruit pyrolysis for enhanced bio-gasoline characteristics through blending with gasohol E85

IF 8 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Energy nexus

Pub Date : 2025-04-23 DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100432

Sittinun Tawkaew , Nathawat Unsomsri , Pichai Asadamongkon , Surachai Narrat Jansri , Songkran Wiriyasart , Sommas Kaewluan

The increasing demand for renewable energy sources highlights the importance of pyrolysis as a sustainable method for converting biomass into valuable products. In this study, palm fresh fruit was pyrolyzed in a 120 L batch-type reactor at 450, 550, 650, and 700 °C at a heating rate of 2–5 °C/min. The production of pyrolysis liquid product (PLP) yie ld is 57.50 %, 62.88 %, 52.53 %, and 47.77 %, respectively. The pyrolysis at 550 °C shows a 62.88 % yield of PLP, 10.27 % biochar, and 26.85 % pyrolysis gases. As the pyrolysis temperature increased, the gas yield slightly increased, whereas the biochar yield decreased. The PLP was distilled at 200 °C to separate into light bio-oil (LBO), wood vinegar (WV), and heavy bio-oil (HBO), yielding 11.91 % LBO, 41.60 % WV, and 46.45 % HBO. The GC–MS of LBO showed that the five components with the highest peak intensities were 1-octene, octane, 1-nonene, nonane, and 1-decene, with respective area percentages of 14.31 %, 8.3 9 %, 18.26 %, 8.01 %, and 8.05 %. The ratios of the blended LBO with gasohol E85 were 70:30, 60:40, and 50:50. The properties of the blended LBO were determined using TGA and a standard test method for distillation. Blending LBO with gasohol E85 in a 60:40 ratio produced fuel that met the gasoline standards for distillation volume fractions. The resulting fuel exhibited a heating value of 36 MJ/kg, which was 35 % higher than that of gasohol E85, highlighting the potential of LBO as a high-quality biofuel and its contribution to renewable energy development.

{"title":"Distillation study of light bio-oil from palm fresh fruit pyrolysis for enhanced bio-gasoline characteristics through blending with gasohol E85","authors":"Sittinun Tawkaew , Nathawat Unsomsri , Pichai Asadamongkon , Surachai Narrat Jansri , Songkran Wiriyasart , Sommas Kaewluan","doi":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100432","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100432","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing demand for renewable energy sources highlights the importance of pyrolysis as a sustainable method for converting biomass into valuable products. In this study, palm fresh fruit was pyrolyzed in a 120 L batch-type reactor at 450, 550, 650, and 700 °C at a heating rate of 2–5 °C/min. The production of pyrolysis liquid product (PLP) yie ld is 57.50 %, 62.88 %, 52.53 %, and 47.77 %, respectively. The pyrolysis at 550 °C shows a 62.88 % yield of PLP, 10.27 % biochar, and 26.85 % pyrolysis gases. As the pyrolysis temperature increased, the gas yield slightly increased, whereas the biochar yield decreased. The PLP was distilled at 200 °C to separate into light bio-oil (LBO), wood vinegar (WV), and heavy bio-oil (HBO), yielding 11.91 % LBO, 41.60 % WV, and 46.45 % HBO. The GC–MS of LBO showed that the five components with the highest peak intensities were 1-octene, octane, 1-nonene, nonane, and 1-decene, with respective area percentages of 14.31 %, 8.3 9 %, 18.26 %, 8.01 %, and 8.05 %. The ratios of the blended LBO with gasohol E85 were 70:30, 60:40, and 50:50. The properties of the blended LBO were determined using TGA and a standard test method for distillation. Blending LBO with gasohol E85 in a 60:40 ratio produced fuel that met the gasoline standards for distillation volume fractions. The resulting fuel exhibited a heating value of 36 MJ/kg, which was 35 % higher than that of gasohol E85, highlighting the potential of LBO as a high-quality biofuel and its contribution to renewable energy development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":93548,"journal":{"name":"Energy nexus","volume":"18 ","pages":"Article 100432"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143876711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Indian rural livelihoods and renewable energy interventions – A critical analysis for a bottom-up approach for sustainability from an energy-water-food nexus context

IF 8 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Energy nexus

Pub Date : 2025-04-23 DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100421

Sanju John Thomas , Sudhansu S. Sahoo , Sheffy Thomas , Ajith Kumar G , Mohamed M. Awad

Indian rural livelihoods are complex, considering the vast geographical regions, climatic changes and socioeconomic divergence. While there is an inherent nexus between energy, water and food in every livelihood they are sometimes intricate, complex and often not accounted. Renewable energy interventions have pitched in livelihoods under a top-down approach in line with favorable policies, regulatory and statutory to meet climate control initiatives. The success of such interventions on the livelihood outcomes are often unmeasured, while possibility of ‘last mile’ interventions very specific to livelihood benefits with focus on energy-water-food nexus remain unexplored. This work focus on the energy consumption pattern of the rural India, financial comparison of decentralized systems over the grid extensions, identify the possibilities of renewable energy interventions in rural livelihoods and indicate the role of livelihood assets and possibilities of the energy-water-food nexus interventions. It is found that around 25 % of the rural population consume 30–50 kWh, while another 25 % consume 50–100 kWh per month. While the lighting load is the maximum and have reached the rural community at large, there is disparity in the reach for clean cooking. While there is a huge potential of renewable energy through the value chain in the agriculture and dairy sector, interventions of biogas and solar lantern have lacked momentum in time with lack of R&D. Mini grids lacked business models and participation of key stake holders in a PPP model. An in-depth analysis of various RE interventions find that a bottom-up approach with a livelihood having robust social, financial and human asset is key for success. It is found that the solar pumps is a best example as an intervention in energy-water-food nexus perspective. A divergence of INR 5/kWh as a subsidy for rural electrification scheme and success of solar pump with a benefit in energy-water-food nexus having a capex of INR 45,000 shows that there is still a potential in decentralized systems.

{"title":"Indian rural livelihoods and renewable energy interventions – A critical analysis for a bottom-up approach for sustainability from an energy-water-food nexus context","authors":"Sanju John Thomas , Sudhansu S. Sahoo , Sheffy Thomas , Ajith Kumar G , Mohamed M. Awad","doi":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100421","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100421","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Indian rural livelihoods are complex, considering the vast geographical regions, climatic changes and socioeconomic divergence. While there is an inherent nexus between energy, water and food in every livelihood they are sometimes intricate, complex and often not accounted. Renewable energy interventions have pitched in livelihoods under a top-down approach in line with favorable policies, regulatory and statutory to meet climate control initiatives. The success of such interventions on the livelihood outcomes are often unmeasured, while possibility of ‘last mile’ interventions very specific to livelihood benefits with focus on energy-water-food nexus remain unexplored. This work focus on the energy consumption pattern of the rural India, financial comparison of decentralized systems over the grid extensions, identify the possibilities of renewable energy interventions in rural livelihoods and indicate the role of livelihood assets and possibilities of the energy-water-food nexus interventions. It is found that around 25 % of the rural population consume 30–50 kWh, while another 25 % consume 50–100 kWh per month. While the lighting load is the maximum and have reached the rural community at large, there is disparity in the reach for clean cooking. While there is a huge potential of renewable energy through the value chain in the agriculture and dairy sector, interventions of biogas and solar lantern have lacked momentum in time with lack of R&D. Mini grids lacked business models and participation of key stake holders in a PPP model. An in-depth analysis of various RE interventions find that a bottom-up approach with a livelihood having robust social, financial and human asset is key for success. It is found that the solar pumps is a best example as an intervention in energy-water-food nexus perspective. A divergence of INR 5/kWh as a subsidy for rural electrification scheme and success of solar pump with a benefit in energy-water-food nexus having a capex of INR 45,000 shows that there is still a potential in decentralized systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":93548,"journal":{"name":"Energy nexus","volume":"18 ","pages":"Article 100421"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143876955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Insights into promoted photocatalytic performance of nanoscale Sm2CrMnO6 double perovskite for organic pollutants degradation under visible light irradiation: Sol-gel auto-combustion synthesis, characterization and mechanisms

IF 8 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Energy nexus

Pub Date : 2025-04-23 DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100443

Ghazal Oroumi , Makarim A. Mahdi , May Jaleel Abed , Foroozan Samimi , Safaa H. Ganduh , Layth S. Jasim , Masoud Salavati-Niasari

Recently, the interest in photocatalytic water treatment has been increased in many aspects. Photocatalysis utilizes free solar energy to degrade various organic pollutants in water. In this study, a magnetic Sm₂CrMnO₆ nanoparticle as photocatalyst was prepared using a novel, low-cost, and simple sol-gel auto-combustion method. Investigating UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analysis revealed the optical band gap of 1.58 eV for as-obtained Sm₂CrMnO₆ nanoparticles. This excellent optical band gap led to develop the Sm₂CrMnO₆ nanoparticles as photocatalyst under visible light. Dual ferromagnetic-paramagnetic nature of resultant nano- Sm₂CrMnO₆ has been revealed by vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM) instrument. In order to explore the photodegradation yield of as-formed products, diverse circumstances on the removal of pollutant models including eriochrome black T (ECBT) and malachite green (MG) was employed, in which optimum dye concentration, and catalyst loading were identified to be 5 ppm and 50 mg/L under visible light. After 120 min, 98 % of ECBT dye molecules were destroyed by visible source.

{"title":"Insights into promoted photocatalytic performance of nanoscale Sm2CrMnO6 double perovskite for organic pollutants degradation under visible light irradiation: Sol-gel auto-combustion synthesis, characterization and mechanisms","authors":"Ghazal Oroumi , Makarim A. Mahdi , May Jaleel Abed , Foroozan Samimi , Safaa H. Ganduh , Layth S. Jasim , Masoud Salavati-Niasari","doi":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100443","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100443","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recently, the interest in photocatalytic water treatment has been increased in many aspects. Photocatalysis utilizes free solar energy to degrade various organic pollutants in water. In this study, a magnetic Sm<sub>2</sub>CrMnO<sub>6</sub> nanoparticle as photocatalyst was prepared using a novel, low-cost, and simple sol-gel auto-combustion method. Investigating UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analysis revealed the optical band gap of 1.58 eV for as-obtained Sm<sub>2</sub>CrMnO<sub>6</sub> nanoparticles. This excellent optical band gap led to develop the Sm<sub>2</sub>CrMnO<sub>6</sub> nanoparticles as photocatalyst under visible light. Dual ferromagnetic-paramagnetic nature of resultant nano- Sm<sub>2</sub>CrMnO<sub>6</sub> has been revealed by vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM) instrument. In order to explore the photodegradation yield of as-formed products, diverse circumstances on the removal of pollutant models including eriochrome black T (ECBT) and malachite green (MG) was employed, in which optimum dye concentration, and catalyst loading were identified to be 5 ppm and 50 mg/L under visible light. After 120 min, 98 % of ECBT dye molecules were destroyed by visible source.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":93548,"journal":{"name":"Energy nexus","volume":"18 ","pages":"Article 100443"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143873863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Synthesis and characterization of bismuth gadolinium oxide/g-C3N4 heterojunction nano photocatalyst for efficient sunlight-driven purification of wastewater containing malachite green dye

IF 8 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Energy nexus

Pub Date : 2025-04-23 DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100442

Shokofeh Mirzasani , Movlud Valian , Ahmad Akbari , Forat H. Alsultany , Masoud Salavati-Niasari

In this research, considering the problem of water pollution, efficient bismuthate nanostructures have been designed to destroy organic pollutants; and in the following, suitable strategies to improve the photocatalytic efficiency have been presented and analyzed. In this regard, BiGdO₃ nanoparticles were prepared by auto-combustion route using sucrose as fuel. A series of techniques including X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) to analyze the morphology, phase purity and optical properties of BiGdO₃ (BGO) samples are employed. Then, the obtained bismuthate nanostructures with an average size of 34.84 nm are used to form BiGdO₃/g-C₃N₄ (BGO/CN) nanocomposites with different content. According to BET analysis, the specific surface area of BGO/CN nanocomposites was found as 5.18 m²g⁻¹. According to DRS data, the BGO band gap (2.78 eV) decreases to 2.45 eV with CN incorporation. The obtained pure BGO nanostructures are studied in malachite green (MG) decomposition. Under optimal conditions , 0.10 g BGO degrades 97.27 % of 20 ppm MG. To investigate the photocatalytic ability of nanocomposites and to improve the use of sunlight, a comparative study is conducted between the light sources. Experimental results show that BGO/CN nanocomposites show higher pho tocatalytic activity (98.36 %) than pure BiGdO₃ and g-C₃N₄. In addition, the photodegradation mechanism of BGO/CN by scavenging experiments introduces •OH active radicals as the main factor in the photocatalytic process.

{"title":"Synthesis and characterization of bismuth gadolinium oxide/g-C3N4 heterojunction nano photocatalyst for efficient sunlight-driven purification of wastewater containing malachite green dye","authors":"Shokofeh Mirzasani , Movlud Valian , Ahmad Akbari , Forat H. Alsultany , Masoud Salavati-Niasari","doi":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100442","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100442","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this research, considering the problem of water pollution, efficient bismuthate nanostructures have been designed to destroy organic pollutants; and in the following, suitable strategies to improve the photocatalytic efficiency have been presented and analyzed. In this regard, BiGdO<sub>3</sub> nanoparticles were prepared by auto-combustion route using sucrose as fuel. A series of techniques including X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) to analyze the morphology, phase purity and optical properties of BiGdO<sub>3</sub> (BGO) samples are employed. Then, the obtained bismuthate nanostructures with an average size of 34.84 nm are used to form BiGdO<sub>3</sub>/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> (BGO/CN) nanocomposites with different content. According to BET analysis, the specific surface area of BGO/CN nanocomposites was found as 5.18 m<sup>2</sup>g<sup>−1</sup>. According to DRS data, the BGO band gap (2.78 eV) decreases to 2.45 eV with CN incorporation. The obtained pure BGO nanostructures are studied in malachite green (MG) decomposition. Under optimal conditions , 0.10 g BGO degrades 97.27 % of 20 ppm MG. To investigate the photocatalytic ability of nanocomposites and to improve the use of sunlight, a comparative study is conducted between the light sources. Experimental results show that BGO/CN nanocomposites show higher pho tocatalytic activity (98.36 %) than pure BiGdO<sub>3</sub> and g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>. In addition, the photodegradation mechanism of BGO/CN by scavenging experiments introduces •OH active radicals as the main factor in the photocatalytic process.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":93548,"journal":{"name":"Energy nexus","volume":"18 ","pages":"Article 100442"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143873861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Assessing the transition in commercial cooking fuels: An energy, economic, and environmental analysis of LPG and electricity in Malaysia

IF 8 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Energy nexus

Pub Date : 2025-04-23 DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100428

Muthu Kumaran Gunasegaran , Md. Hasanuzzaman

Commercial restaurant buildings stand out as significant consumers of energy. In Malaysia, commercial restaurant buildings have access to both cooking fuel types: liquified petroleum gas and electricity. This paper analyses the potential for an energy transition for commercial restaurants by analyzing the energy, economic, and environmental impact of liquified petroleum gas-fuelled and electric-fuelled equipment. It is found that liquified petroleum gas equipment has approximately 38 % higher energy consumption but only 0.8 % higher energy cost compared to electric. Liquified petroleum gas equipment efficiency is 66 %, while electric equipment performance scores 97 % using the water boiling test. The life-cycle cost analysis reveals that electric fuel equipment could save up to USD 63,045.20 in cost while reducing greenhouse gas emissions with applied strategies. Hence, a new energy policy is proposed to create a strategic energy transition for Malaysia's electricity generation mix to accelerate the Nation’s carbon emission reduction goal by 2030.

引用次数: 0

Considering the role of the energy grid mix on indirect water use in dairy barns

IF 8 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Energy nexus

Pub Date : 2025-03-23 DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100404

Rajan Ray , Etienne Le Riche , Robert Gordon , Andrew VanderZaag

Water use is an important environmental concern for the dairy sector. There are two kinds of water use in the dairy sector, direct and indirect. Electricity generation (e.g., cooling water, evaporation, etc.) is an indirect use of water and a significant contributor to the overall water budget depending on how electricity is generated. In Canada, the dairy industry is distributed across 10 provinces each with a wide range of electricity generation sources in their grid mix, making it an interesting case study. For a dairy farm that uses 1021 kWh cow^-1 y^-1 (9.4 – 10.6 kWh per 100 kg milk, depending on the province), the average water use related to generating electricity was estimated to be 3.48 L kg^-1 milk (range: 1.40 – 5.77 L kg^-1, depending on the electricity grid). Energy conservation technologies could reduce electricity use by as much as 30 % and thus reduce water use by 1.04 L kg^-1 milk on average (range: 0.42 – 1.73 L kg^-1). Installing an on-farm solar array (0.40 kWp cow^-1; i.e. one 400-watt solar panel per cow) could lower grid-electricity-related water use by 35 – 51 % (or by 0.57 – 2.71 L kg^-1). Solar array sized with the capacity to reach net-zero electricity is feasible and can eliminate grid-electricity-related water use. This study highlights that dairy farms can achieve substantial water savings by strategically using electricity conservation and renewables, with the magnitude depending on the electricity grid mix, a relationship that has yet to be analyzed in current literature.

{"title":"Considering the role of the energy grid mix on indirect water use in dairy barns","authors":"Rajan Ray , Etienne Le Riche , Robert Gordon , Andrew VanderZaag","doi":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100404","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100404","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water use is an important environmental concern for the dairy sector. There are two kinds of water use in the dairy sector, direct and indirect. Electricity generation (e.g., cooling water, evaporation, etc.) is an indirect use of water and a significant contributor to the overall water budget depending on how electricity is generated. In Canada, the dairy industry is distributed across 10 provinces each with a wide range of electricity generation sources in their grid mix, making it an interesting case study. For a dairy farm that uses 1021 kWh cow<sup>-1</sup> y<sup>-1</sup> (9.4 – 10.6 kWh per 100 kg milk, depending on the province), the average water use related to generating electricity was estimated to be 3.48 L kg<sup>-1</sup> milk (range: 1.40 – 5.77 L kg<sup>-1</sup>, depending on the electricity grid). Energy conservation technologies could reduce electricity use by as much as 30 % and thus reduce water use by 1.04 L kg<sup>-1</sup> milk on average (range: 0.42 – 1.73 L kg<sup>-1</sup>). Installing an on-farm solar array (0.40 kWp cow<sup>-1</sup>; i.e. one 400-watt solar panel per cow) could lower grid-electricity-related water use by 35 – 51 % (or by 0.57 – 2.71 L kg<sup>-1</sup>). Solar array sized with the capacity to reach net-zero electricity is feasible and can eliminate grid-electricity-related water use. This study highlights that dairy farms can achieve substantial water savings by strategically using electricity conservation and renewables, with the magnitude depending on the electricity grid mix, a relationship that has yet to be analyzed in current literature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":93548,"journal":{"name":"Energy nexus","volume":"18 ","pages":"Article 100404"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143725382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

A review of water-energy-food nexus frameworks, models, challenges and future opportunities to create an integrated, national security-based development index

IF 8 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Energy nexus

Pub Date : 2025-03-18 DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100409

C. Yupanqui , N. Dias , M.R. Goodarzi , S. Sharma , H. Vagheei , Rabi Mohtar

The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus has emerged as an innovative platform to assist with sustainable resource management. This review paper describes the WEF Nexus evolution during the last century and highlights its advances in tools, frameworks, and concepts. The paper critically assesses several aspects of the WEF Nexus including the milestones, major WEF frameworks, tools and models developed over the last twenty years, different WEF Nexus conceptualizations, and the significant support and investments reported in the 21st century. The relationship between the WEF Nexus and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is analyzed based on Nexus research studies, regional strategies or national programs were achieving WEF components lead to targeting some specific SDGs. The analysis of the principal WEF Nexus challenges and gaps emphasizes nature-driven crises such as water scarcity, energy shocks, and food shortages. Finally, the paper proposes a new business model that aims to quantify the water, energy, and food resources by country. The conceptual framework develops a WEF security index based on internationally recognized metrics and includes disaster risk and climate change, as well as trade-off as threats and contingency factors that are considered in the model. This review proposes a novel platform to assess the WEF security index per country as a pathway to contribute to SDGs 6,7,2,8 and 13.

{"title":"A review of water-energy-food nexus frameworks, models, challenges and future opportunities to create an integrated, national security-based development index","authors":"C. Yupanqui , N. Dias , M.R. Goodarzi , S. Sharma , H. Vagheei , Rabi Mohtar","doi":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100409","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100409","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus has emerged as an innovative platform to assist with sustainable resource management. This review paper describes the WEF Nexus evolution during the last century and highlights its advances in tools, frameworks, and concepts. The paper critically assesses several aspects of the WEF Nexus including the milestones, major WEF frameworks, tools and models developed over the last twenty years, different WEF Nexus conceptualizations, and the significant support and investments reported in the 21st century. The relationship between the WEF Nexus and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is analyzed based on Nexus research studies, regional strategies or national programs were achieving WEF components lead to targeting some specific SDGs. The analysis of the principal WEF Nexus challenges and gaps emphasizes nature-driven crises such as water scarcity, energy shocks, and food shortages. Finally, the paper proposes a new business model that aims to quantify the water, energy, and food resources by country. The conceptual framework develops a WEF security index based on internationally recognized metrics and includes disaster risk and climate change, as well as trade-off as threats and contingency factors that are considered in the model. This review proposes a novel platform to assess the WEF security index per country as a pathway to contribute to SDGs 6,7,2,8 and 13.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":93548,"journal":{"name":"Energy nexus","volume":"18 ","pages":"Article 100409"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143725381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Cost-effective and sustainable heating solutions for indoor swimming pools: A comparative study and LCOH assessment of PV-heat pumps and solar thermal collectors

IF 8 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Energy nexus

Pub Date : 2025-03-18 DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100414

Mohamed El Mardi , Amine Allouhi , Yassine Rami , Kheira Anissa Tabet Aoul

This study presents a comprehensive technoeconomic analysis of three water heat system configurations to satisfy the heating requirements of an indoor swimming pool in Fez, Morocco. The assessed configurations included a flat-plate solar collector with a diesel boiler backup, evacuated-tube collector with a diesel boiler backup, and grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) plant combined with a heat pump. The analysis emphasizes multicriteria evaluation and sensitivity analyses as distinguishing features. The analytical results demonstrated that the configuration with a grid-connected PV plant combined with a heat pump outperformed the other configurations in terms of economic viability. This configuration exhibited a short payback period of 4.415 years, indicating a rapid return on investment. The levelized cost of heating (LCOH) for this configuration was 0.0258 $/kWh, highlighting its cost-effectiveness. However, this configuration allowed avoiding CO₂ emissions up to 35.63 tons/year, which is considerably lower than solar thermal heating systems. Sensitivity analyses revealed that the coefficient of performance (COP), diesel cost, and collector/panel cost were critical factors influencing the performance and economic feasibility of the compared systems. Optimizing the COP and efficiency of heating systems, combined with lower technology costs, can significantly improve the payback period, reduce the levelized cost of heat (LCOH), and enhance CO₂ emissions mitigation.

Expanding the analysis to other Moroccan cities helped identify optimal locations for solar heating systems. Errachidia emerged as the most promising site, offering the best energy, economic, and environmental performance due to its exceptional solar energy resources

{"title":"Cost-effective and sustainable heating solutions for indoor swimming pools: A comparative study and LCOH assessment of PV-heat pumps and solar thermal collectors","authors":"Mohamed El Mardi , Amine Allouhi , Yassine Rami , Kheira Anissa Tabet Aoul","doi":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100414","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100414","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study presents a comprehensive technoeconomic analysis of three water heat system configurations to satisfy the heating requirements of an indoor swimming pool in Fez, Morocco. The assessed configurations included a flat-plate solar collector with a diesel boiler backup, evacuated-tube collector with a diesel boiler backup, and grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) plant combined with a heat pump. The analysis emphasizes multicriteria evaluation and sensitivity analyses as distinguishing features. The analytical results demonstrated that the configuration with a grid-connected PV plant combined with a heat pump outperformed the other configurations in terms of economic viability. This configuration exhibited a short payback period of 4.415 years, indicating a rapid return on investment. The levelized cost of heating (LCOH) for this configuration was 0.0258 $/kWh, highlighting its cost-effectiveness. However, this configuration allowed avoiding CO<sub>2</sub> emissions up to 35.63 tons/year, which is considerably lower than solar thermal heating systems. Sensitivity analyses revealed that the coefficient of performance (COP), diesel cost, and collector/panel cost were critical factors influencing the performance and economic feasibility of the compared systems. Optimizing the COP and efficiency of heating systems, combined with lower technology costs, can significantly improve the payback period, reduce the levelized cost of heat (LCOH), and enhance CO₂ emissions mitigation.</div><div>Expanding the analysis to other Moroccan cities helped identify optimal locations for solar heating systems. Errachidia emerged as the most promising site, offering the best energy, economic, and environmental performance due to its exceptional solar energy resources</div></div>","PeriodicalId":93548,"journal":{"name":"Energy nexus","volume":"18 ","pages":"Article 100414"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143705556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0