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Topic Review
Optimal Sizing of Hybrid Renewable Energy Sources Systems
Renewable energy solutions are appropriate for on-grid and off-grid applications, acting as a supporter for the utility network or rural locations without the need to develop or extend costly and difficult grid infrastructure. As a result, hybrid renewable energy sources (HRES) have become a popular option for grid-connected or standalone systems. HRES are systems that are reliable, CO2-emission-free, and an effective solution for minimizing dependency on one renewable resource. In attaining a reliable, clean, and cost-effective system, sizing optimal HRES is a crucial challenge.
  • 863
  • 24 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Waste Cooking Oil Biodiesel
To reduce the emissions caused by running the compression ignition engines, waste cooking oil (WCO) biodiesel is one of the best alternative fuels locally available in all parts of the world. WCO biodiesel cuts down the emissions value by 85% due to decreased hydrocarbon, SO2, CO, and smoke emissions in the exhaust that will effectively save the environment.
  • 862
  • 10 May 2021
Topic Review
Alternative Fuels in Maritime Sector
The current sulfur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx), and greenhouse gases (GHG) regulations have pressured international maritime transportation to adopt lower-emission fuels. Alternative fuels have received strong attention due to the fact they can be cleaner and environmentally friendly and, in some options, similar to the heavy fuel oil (HFO) and marine gas oil (MGO) used. The liquefied natural gas (LNG) is undoubtedly the main low carbon alternative with many ships already operating with this source in the world. Eighty-eight percent of the papers referred to LNG as an important source in the maritime sector for greenhouse gases (GHG) reduction. Hydrogen is one of the most cited options (16.2%). In a tank-to-wheel assessment, H2 from fossil sources has nil GHG emissions, which can also be highly carbon-intensive when analyzed from a well-to-wheel perspective. Biodiesel is a renewable and low carbon source, which represented 14.5% of total mentions. This option, together with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) (3.8%) and straight vegetable oil (SVO) (3.4%) are sources that can be blended into the current marine engines without further modification. 
  • 862
  • 12 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
The carbon capture and storage (CCS) refers to many technologies that capture CO2 at some stage of a combustion process or an industrial process that produces CO2 as waste.
  • 859
  • 03 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Thin-Film Fabrication for Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are amongst the most widely used renewable alternative energy systems with near-zero carbon emission, high efficiency, and environment-friendly features. However, the high operating temperature of SOFCs is still considered a major challenge due to several issues regarding the materials’ corrosion, unwanted reactions between layers, etc. Thus, low-temperature SOFCs (LT-SOFCs) have gained significant interest during the past decades. Despite the numerous advantages of LT-SOFCs, material selection for each layer is of great importance as the common materials have not shown a desirable performance so far. In addition to the selection of the materials, fabrication techniques have a great influence on the properties of the SOFCs. As SOFCs with thinner layers showed lower polarisation resistance, especially in the electrolyte layer, different thin-film fabrication methods have been employed, and their effect on the overall performance of SOFCs has been evaluated.
  • 859
  • 23 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Perovskite Solar Cells
Charge transporting materials (CTMs) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have played an important role in improving the stability by replacing the liquid electrolyte with solid state electron or hole conductors and enhancing the photovoltaic efficiency by the efficient electron collection. Many organic and inorganic materials for charge transporting in PSCs have been studied and applied to increase the charge extraction, transport and collection, such as Spiro-OMeTAD for hole transporting material (HTM), TiO2 for electron transporting material (ETM) and MoOX for HTM etc. However, recently inorganic CTMs are used to replace the disadvantages of organic materials in PSCs such as, the long-term operational instability, low charge mobility. Especially, atomic layer deposition (ALD) has many advantages in obtaining the conformal, dense and virtually pinhole-free layers. 
  • 858
  • 10 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Biomass Availability in Europe
Biomass has been demonstrated as a capable source of energy to fulfill the increasing demand for clean energy sources which could last a long time. Replacing fossil fuels with biomass-based ones can potentially lead to a reduction of carbon emissions, which is the main target of the EU climate strategy. Based on RED II (revised Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001/EU) and the European Green Deal, biomass is a promising energy source for achieving carbon neutrality in the future. However, the sustainable potential of biomass resources in the forthcoming decades is still a matter of question.
  • 857
  • 15 Jul 2020
Topic Review
Photovoltaic Cell Energy Conversion
Efficient photon to charge (PTC) transfer is considered to be the cornerstone of technological improvements in the photovoltaic (PV) industry, while it constitutes the most common process in nature. 
  • 854
  • 01 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Biodiesel Sector
As Earth’s fossil energy resources are limited, there is a growing need for renewable resources such as biodiesel. That is the reason why the social, economic and environmental impacts of biofuels became an important research topic in the last decade. Depleted stocks of crude oil and the significant level of environmental pollution encourage researchers and professionals to seek and find solutions. The study aims to analyze the economic and sustainability issues of biodiesel production by a systematic literature review. During this process, 53 relevant studies were analyzed out of 13,069 identified articles. Every study agrees that there are several concerns about the first generation technology; however, further generations cannot be price-competitive at this moment due to the immature technology and high production costs. However, there are promising alternatives, such as wastewater-based microalgae with up to 70% oil content, fat, oils and grease (FOG), when production cost is below 799 USD/gallon, and municipal solid waste-volatile fatty acids technology, where the raw material is free. Proper management of the co-products (mainly glycerol) is essential, especially at the currently low petroleum prices (0.29 USD/L), which can only be handled by the biorefineries. Sustainability is sometimes translated as cost efficiency, but the complex interpretation is becoming more common. Common elements of sustainability are environmental and social, as well as economic, issues.
  • 851
  • 18 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Sustainable Transport in Poland
Road transport is one of the key elements of economic development that helps build social and territorial cohesion. The economic development that has taken place in Poland over the last three decades has led to an improvement in road infrastructure throughout the country. Construction of new roads and improvement of existing ones promotes economic development. However, as the number of cars increases, so does the level of air emissions. In reducing pollutant emissions, the analysis of the technological possibilities used and the improvement of their efficiency with the simultaneous minimization of generated pollution is also of particular importance. The purpose of the publication is to present development trends in road transport in Poland and the possibility of reducing emissions in this respect. The method of analysing strategic documents and statistical data was used to achieve this goal. Moreover, the article shows perspectives for reducing the level of emissions from road transport and refers to the assumptions related to the modernization of the transport sector and reducing its share in carbon emissions and its sustainable development in cities.
  • 851
  • 23 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Liquefied Natural Gas in Railways
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) can used as an alternative to diesel fuel in railway traction. At present, there is a common effort to reduce the environmental effect of energy consumption. With this objective, the transportation sector seeks to improve emissions in all its modes. In particular, the rail transport industry is analysing various alternatives for non-electrified lines. These services are mainly carried out with diesel units.
  • 850
  • 26 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Operative Forecasting of Electric Energy Consumption
Balancing the production and consumption of electricity is an urgent task. Its implementation largely depends on the means and methods of planning electricity production. Forecasting is one of the planning tools since the availability of an accurate forecast is a mechanism for increasing the validity of management decisions. Both classical and modern forecasting methods have been identified when forecasting electric energy consumption. Classical forecasting methods are based on the theory of regression and statistical analysis (regression, autoregressive models); probabilistic forecasting methods and modern forecasting methods use classical and deep-machine-learning algorithms, rank analysis methodology, fuzzy set theory, singular spectral analysis, wavelet transformations, Gray models, etc. Operational forecasting is the research subject of many scientists; it touches upon the issues of operational management of the operating modes of power facilities.
  • 850
  • 30 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Lignin-First Biorefinery
Conventional lignocellulosic-biomass-utilization strategies have difficulty in avoiding the undesirable condensation of reactive intermediates during biomass deconstruction, which poses fundamental challenges for commercial applications. Lignin-first biorefinery inhibits the condensation of reactive intermediates either by selectively catalyzing the conversion of these intermediates to stable derivatives or by avoiding their formation by functionalizing natural structures or intermediates. This strategy has attracted wide attention from researchers since it was proposed.
  • 849
  • 10 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Wireless Power Transfer Systems (WPTSs)1
Wireless power transfer systems (WPTSs) are considered as a promising technology to increase the acceptance of electric vehicles (EVs) . Compared to conductive charging, WPTSs offer vehicle charging without user intervention. This means that no cable handling and plugging are required. Thus, WPTSs provide a low-maintenance charging technology for EVs with high comfort and safety.The working principle of WPTSs for electric vehicles is based on the electromagnetic interaction of an offboard ground pad module (GPM) and an onboard car pad module (CPM). The GPM typically comprises four main elements: a rectifier circuit, an inverter, a matching network and a transmitter coil. The CPM consists of a receiver coil, a matching network, a rectifier and, if necessary, a DC/DC converter. 
  • 848
  • 08 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Fuel Cell Power Systems
Fuel cells as clean power sources are very attractive for the maritime sector, which is committed to sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas and atmospheric pollutant emissions from ships. 
  • 845
  • 23 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Solar Thermal Systems
The use of solar thermal systems (STSs) has reached a significant edge. The increasing research on developing an alternative power supply for limiting fossil fuel usage and climate change are the driving forces of STSs. STSs’ applications, including PV/T or “photovoltaic/thermal” systems, zero-energy buildings, greenhouse solar thermal applications, solar thermal for pumping water, solar thermal refrigerators, solar chimneys, water desalination, and solar collectors, along with the benefits and challenges of these applications.
  • 840
  • 28 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Factors Affecting Performance of FO/RO
Forward osmosis (FO) and pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) have gained attention recently as potential processes to solve water and energy scarcity problems with advantages over pressure-driven membrane processes. These processes can be designed to produce bioenergy and clean water at the same time (i.e., wastewater treatment with power generation). Despite having significant technological advancement, these bioenergy processes are yet to be implemented in full scale and commercialized due to its relatively low performance. Hence, massive and extensive research has been carried out to evaluate the variables in FO and PRO processes such as osmotic membrane, feed solutions, draw solutions, and operating conditions in order to maximize the outcomes, which include water flux and power density.
  • 839
  • 12 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Renewable Energy Sources into Low-Temperature District Heating Systems
Renewable energy is derived from non-exhaustible and naturally renewable natural resources. Solar, geothermal, wind, biomass, and hydropower are examples of renewable energy sources (RES). Solar, geothermal, and biomass resources are the most appropriate renewable energies for heating/cooling.
  • 839
  • 08 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Role of Hydrochar for Multipurpose Applications
Hydrothermal carbonization converts high-moisture waste biomass into a valuable hydrochar unlocking multiple applications 
  • 839
  • 17 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Water–Energy Nexus
The sustainability or green building rating system used in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pearl Rating System (PRS) of Estidama, similar to other international rating systems such as LEED and BREEAM, considers several strategies, regulations, and policies to improve the energy and water performance in buildings. However, the applicability of considering water as part of energy or the fact that utilization of energy mandates the usage of water seems unexplored and not yet included in any of the existing building rating systems including LEED. A unified approach of the water and energy resources is hence vital for future considerations in energy policy, planning and the inclusion of the same in the sustainability rating systems as well. This paper investigates, as a case study, the prospects of water-energy nexus in the prevailing UAE green building rating system; Pearl Rating System(PRS) to bring out if any water conservation strategy has an adverse effect on energy and vice versa. The review revealed that the major shortcomings of PRS in terms of water-energy nexus strategy are the usage of reference codes not suitable to UAE’s climate and geographical conditions, inexistent synergy between some credit categories, oversight of rebound effects, and a need for credit reassessment. The paper also recommends that any proposed strategy to realign credit categories in terms of water-energy nexus with the potential risk to also have a hidden negative rebound effect which the researchers and practitioners should identify lest the water- energy tradeoff bring unprecedented repercussions. The theoretical analysis established that the bifurcating management of water and energy in the sustainability rating system and energy policy needs to be revisited in order to reap more sustainable and optimum results that is environmentally, ecologically and financially consistent. The theoretical analysis established that the bifurcating management of water and energy in the sustainability rating system and energy policy need to be reformed in order to reap more sustainable and optimum results that is environmentally, ecologically and financially consistent.  
  • 827
  • 12 Apr 2021
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