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Topic Review
Virtual Power Plants
Due to the rapid growth in power consumption of domestic and industrial appliances, distributed energy generation units face difficulties in supplying power efficiently. The integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) and energy storage systems (ESSs) provides a solution to these problems using appropriate management schemes to achieve optimal operation. Furthermore, to lessen the uncertainties of distributed energy management systems, a decentralized energy management system named virtual power plant (VPP) plays a significant role.
  • 3.9K
  • 18 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Aerogel-Based Plasters
Aerogel has entered the construction field in the last two decades as a component of many insulation products, due to its high thermal performance. Aerogel-based plasters allow the matching of high thermal performance and limited thickness. This makes them suitable when retrofitting an existing building and also when restoring a heritage building. This entry presents the state of the art of the research on aerogel-based plasters as a part of the aerogel-products for the building sector.
  • 3.9K
  • 08 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Biofuel Supply Chain
Bioenergy is one of the alternatives to secure energy demand, despite increasing debate on the sustainability of using bioenergy as a renewable source. As the source is disseminated over a large area and affected by seasonality, the potential benefit is highly dependent on other cost and benefit trade-offs along the supply chain.
  • 3.9K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Energetic Valorisation of Olive Biomass
The generation, composition, properties and potential energetic applications of the main three biomass obtained from the olive oil industry are illustrated.
  • 3.9K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Opportunities for Catalytic Reactions and Materials in Buildings
Residential and commercial buildings are responsible for over 30% of global final energy consumption and accounts for ~40% of annual direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. Energy efficient and sustainable technologies are necessary to not only lower the energy footprint but also lower the environmental burden. Many proven and emerging technologies are being pursued to meet the ever-increasing energy demand. Catalytic science has a significant new role to play in helping address sustainable energy challenges, particularly in buildings, compared to transportation and industrial sectors. Thermally driven heat pumps, dehumidification, cogeneration, thermal energy storage, carbon capture and utilization, emissions suppression, waste-to-energy conversion, and corrosion prevention technologies can tap into the advantages of catalytic science in realizing the full potential of such approaches, quickly, efficiently, and reliably. Catalysts can help increase energy conversion efficiency in building related technologies but must utilize low cost, easily available and easy-to-manufacture materials for large scale deployment. This entry presents a comprehensive overview of the impact of each building technology area on energy demand and environmental burden, state-of-the-art of catalytic solutions, research, and development opportunities for catalysis in building technologies, while identifying requirements, opportunities, and challenges.
  • 3.9K
  • 18 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Hydrogen Storage Technologies for Railway Engineering
According to the specific requirements of railway engineering, a techno-economic comparison for onboard hydrogen storage technologies is conducted to discuss their feasibility and potentials for hydrogen-powered hybrid trains. Physical storage methods, including compressed hydrogen (CH2), liquid hydrogen (LH2), and cryo-compressed hydrogen (CcH2), and material-based (chemical) storage methods, such as ammonia, liquid organic hydrogen carriages (LOHCs), and metal hydrides, are carefully discussed in terms of their operational conditions, energy capacity, and economic costs.
  • 3.8K
  • 23 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Enzymatic Transesterification in Biodiesel Production
       Biodiesel constitutes an attractive source of energy because it is renewable,  biodegradable, and non-polluting. Up to 20% biodiesel can be blended with fossil diesel and is being produced and used in many countries. Biodiesel is produced through the transesterification reaction of fat waste with a short-chain alcohol, usually methanol, in the presence of a catalyst. Animal fats, usually found as waste from slaughterhouses, meat processing industry, and cooking facilities, constitute an important waste with costly treatment that can be reduced if used as feedstock for biodiesel production. Animal fat waste represents near 6% of total feedstock used to produce biodiesel through alkaline catalysis transesterification after its pretreatment. Lipase transesterification has some advantages such as the requirement of mild conditions, absence of pretreatment, no soap formation, simple downstream purification process and generation of high quality biodiesel. However, it has some disadvantages like the cost of the enzyme, its poor stability, and the enzyme deactivation by alcohol, that can be partly overcome through enzyme immobilization. A few companies are using liquid lipase formulations and, in some cases, immobilized lipases for industrial biodiesel production.        Biodiesel constitutes an attractive source of energy because it is renewable,  biodegradable, and non-polluting. Up to 20% biodiesel can be blended with fossil diesel and is being produced and used in many countries. Biodiesel is produced through the transesterification reaction of fat waste with a short-chain alcohol, usually methanol, in the presence of a catalyst. Animal fats, usually found as waste from slaughterhouses, meat processing industry, and cooking facilities, constitute an important waste with costly treatment that can be reduced if used as feedstock for biodiesel production. Animal fat waste represents near 6% of total feedstock used to produce biodiesel through alkaline catalysis transesterification after its pretreatment. Lipase transesterification has some advantages such as the requirement of mild conditions, absence of pretreatment, no soap formation, simple downstream purification process and generation of high quality biodiesel. However, it has some disadvantages like the cost of the enzyme, its poor stability, and the enzyme deactivation by alcohol, that can be partly overcome through enzyme immobilization. A few companies are using liquid lipase formulations and, in some cases, immobilized lipases for industrial biodiesel production.
  • 3.8K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Energy Piles
Energy piles are a relatively new technology that have dual function as heat transferring and load bearing. Due to the influence of temperature cycles, additional thermal stress and relative displacement of the pile will be generated; this is different from the load transferring mechanism of the conventional pile. In order to study the thermodynamic characteristics of the energy pipe pile under dual working conditions and temperature cycles, field tests were carried out on the PHC (prestressed high-strength concrete) energy pipe pile without constraining on the top of the piles. Displacement gauges were arranged on the top of the pile, and concrete strain gauges (temperature, strain) were embedded in the pile.
  • 3.7K
  • 31 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Critical Heat Flux Amelioration
Critical heat flux (CHF) is the thermal limit of a phase change phenomenon where boiling occurs during heating, which suddenly decreases the efficiency of heat transfer. Ameliorating CHF by altering the boiling surface characteristics can lead to more efficiency, safety, and reliability of the system.
  • 3.7K
  • 11 Aug 2020
Topic Review
Mechanical Durability of PEM Fuel Cells
The mechanical durability of PEM fuel cells is a significant barrier to commercializing these systems for stationary and transportation power applications. The performance of a PEM fuel cell or stack is affected pointedly by the degradation of its components materials. Performance degradation is unavoidable, but the degradation rate can be minimized by comprehensively understanding degradation and failure mechanisms. Furthermore, the degradation processes of the different components are often interconnected in fuel cells. Therefore, the degradation phenomena of each fuel cell component must be separated, analyzed, and systematically understood to develop novel component materials and build novel cells/stacks that mitigate insufficient fuel cell mechanical durability.
  • 3.6K
  • 01 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Biofuel production from different sources
Due to the depletion of fossil fuels, biofuel production from renewable sources has gainedinterest. Malaysia, as a tropical country with huge resources, has a high potential to produce differenttypes of biofuels from renewable sources. In Malaysia, biofuels can be produced from various sources,such as lignocellulosic biomass, palm oil residues, and municipal wastes. Besides, biofuels are dividedinto two main categories, called liquid (bioethanol and biodiesel) and gaseous (biohydrogen andbiogas). Malaysia agreed to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45% by 2030 as theysigned the Paris agreement in 2016. Therefore, we reviewed the status and potential of Malaysia asone of the main biofuel producers in the world in recent years. The role of government and existingpolicies have been discussed to analyze the outlook of the biofuel industries in Malaysia.
  • 3.5K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Hydrogen Storage Techniques for On-Board Applications
Hydrogen as an energy carrier could help decarbonize industrial, building, and transportation sectors, and be used in fuel cells to generate electricity, power, or heat. One of the numerous ways to solve the climate crisis is to make the vehicles on our roads as clean as possible. Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) have demonstrated a high potential in storing and converting chemical energy into electricity with zero carbon dioxide emissions. This text presents the most favorable hydrogen storage approaches for FCEV on-board applications. To achieve long-range autonomy (over 500 km), FCEVs must be capable of storing 5-10 kg of hydrogen in compressed vessels at 700 bar, with Type IV vessels being the primary option. Although physical and chemical storage technologies are expected to be valuable to the hydrogen economy, compressed hydrogen storage remains the most advanced technology for on-board applications.
  • 3.4K
  • 09 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Hydrogen Storage in Activated Carbons
With the rising demand for H2 in the past decades and its favorable characteristics as an energy carrier, the escalating USA consumption of pure H2 can be projected to reach 63 million tons by 2050. Despite the tremendous potential of H2 generation and its widespread application, transportation and storage of H2 have remained the major challenges of a sustainable H2 economy. Recently, the literature has been stressing the need to develop biomass-based activated carbons as an effective H2 storage material, as these are inexpensive adsorbents with tunable chemical, mechanical, and morphological properties.  This article reviews the current research trends and perspectives on the role of various properties of biomass-based activated carbons on its H2 uptake capacity. The critical aspects of the governing factors of H2 storage, namely, the surface morphology (specific surface area, pore volume, and pore size distribution), surface functionality (heteroatom and functional groups), physical condition of H2 storage (temperature and pressure), and thermodynamic properties (heat of adsorption and desorption), are discussed. A comprehensive survey of the literature showed that an “ideal” biomass-based activated carbon sorbent with a micropore size typically below 10 Å, micropore volume greater than 1.5 cm3/g, and high surface area of 4000 m2/g or more may help in substantial gravimetric H2 uptake of >10 wt% at cryogenic conditions (−196 °C), as smaller pores benefit by stronger physisorption due to the high heat of adsorption.
  • 3.4K
  • 01 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Functional Polymer Materials for Energy Applications
This entry provides insight into the recent energy applications of polymers.
  • 3.4K
  • 15 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Compressed Hydrogen Tank Applications across Transportation
The transportation sector faces a new paradigm to address the threat of climate change and environmental pollution. The application of hydrogen fuel cells in transportation offers a great possibility to decarbonize an activity sector, which alone is responsible for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. This is particularly attractive to sectors with limited low-carbon fuel options, such as aviation and maritime sectors.
  • 3.3K
  • 27 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) operate by converting the chemical energy in a fuel into electrical energy. The most crucial parameters in the operation process are the temperature, pressure, relative humidity, and air stoichiometry ratio. The classical structure of a PEMFC consists of a proton exchange membrane, anode electrode, cathode electrode, catalyst layers (CLs), microporous layer (MPLs), gas diffusion layers (GDLs), two bipolar plates (BPs), and gas flow channels (GFCs). The mechanical behavior and the conductivity of the protons are highly dependent on the structure of the MEAs.
  • 3.3K
  • 20 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Redox Flow Batteries
Redox Flow Batteries (RFB) are electrochemical energy storage devices that converts chemical energy into electrical energy through reversible oxidation and reduction of the working fluids. Redox flow batteries are considered by many to be a promising technology for the storage of energy for days or even weeks. Other advantages of RFBs are modularly and the ability to change the output power and energy capacity independently, by changing the size and number of cells in a stack and by adjusting the volume of electrolyte. Also, RFBs show a long lifecycle compared to lithium-ion batteries.
  • 3.3K
  • 14 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Electricity Tariffs and Solutions for Optimal Energy Management
Today, electricity tariffs play an essential role in the electricity retail market as they are the key factor for the decision-making of end-users. Additionally, tariffs are necessary for increasing competition in the electricity market. They have a great impact on load energy management. Moreover, tariffs are not taken as a fixed approach to expense calculations only but are influenced by many other factors, such as electricity generation, transmission, distribution costs, and governmental taxation. Thus, electricity pricing differs significantly between countries or between regions within a country. Improper tariff calculation methodologies in some areas have led to high-power losses, unnecessary investments, increased operational expenses, and environmental pollution due to the non-use of available sustainable energy resources.
  • 3.3K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Electric Vehicles for Vehicle-to-Grid Services
With every passing second, we witness the effect of the global environmental impact of fossil fuels and carbon emissions, to which nations across the globe respond by coming up with ambitious goals to become carbon-free and energy-efficient. At the same time, electric vehicles (EVs) are developed as a possible solution to reach this ambitious goal of making a cleaner environment and facilitating smarter transportation modes. This excellent idea of shifting towards an entirely EV-based mobility industry and economy results in a range of issues that need to be addressed. The issues range from ramping up the electricity generation for the projected increase in consumption to developing an infrastructure that is large enough to support the higher demand for electricity that arises due to the market penetration of EVs. Vehicle to grid (V2G) is a concept that is largely in a testing phase in the current scenario. However, it appears to offer a solution to the issues created by a mobility sector that the constantly growing EV fleet will dominate. Furthermore, the integration of EVs with the grid seems to offer various cost-wise and environment-wise benefits while assisting the grid by tapping into the idle energy of parked EVs during peak hours
  • 3.3K
  • 17 Apr 2024
Topic Review
Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Ocean Energy Sources
The optimal utilization of renewable energies is a crucial factor toward the realization of sustainability and zero carbon in a future energy system. Tidal currents, waves, and thermal and salinity gradients in the ocean are excellent renewable energy sources. Ocean tidal, osmotic, wave, and thermal energy sources have yearly potentials that exceed the global power demand of 22,848 TWh/y. It is expected that a better insight into ocean energy and a deep understanding of various potential devices can lead to a broader adoption of ocean energy. It is also clear that further research into control strategies is needed. Policy makers should provide financial support for technologies in the demonstration stage and employ road mapping to accelerate the cost and risk reductions to overcome economic hurdles. 
  • 3.3K
  • 23 May 2022
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