In many regions of the world, the winter period is a time of poor air quality, due primarily to the increased use of individual and district heating systems. As a consequence, the atmospheric air contains increased concentrations of both particulate matter and gaseous pollutants (as a result of “low” emissions at altitudes of up to 40 m and “high” emissions more than 40 m above ground level). In winter, the increased pollution is very often exacerbated by meteorological conditions, including air temperature, pressure, air speed, wind direction, and thermal inversion. Here, we analyze the concentrations of particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5, and PM1.0) and gaseous pollutants (H2S, SO2, and VOC) in the immediate vicinity of a large solid fuel-fired heat and power plant located in an urban agglomeration. Two locations were selected for analysis. The first was close to an air quality measurement station in the center of a multi-family housing estate. The second was the intersection of two mai... [more]

This paper presents a new virtual reality (VR)-based approach to advanced learnings and experiences of the circular economy (CE) in the construction industry. The approach involves incorporating game design and a building information modelling (BIM) digital twin of a purposed CE prototype building. Our novel approach introduces VR environments designed to provide a visual representation of materials and components that can be reintroduced into the supply chain at the end of life and their removal procedures and material provenance. A case study methodology was applied to a purposely designed CE building, namely the Legacy Living Lab (L3). To reflect the real-life building, L3’s BIM model was combined with Unify game software to advance the literature in three key areas. First, the research investigates VR tools that will allow building designers to view and implement their strategies to advance CE design. Second, this research proposes an advanced VR tool to visualise the bill of quant... [more]

In this review paper, we select four important waves of new entrants that knocked on the door of European electricity markets to illustrate how market rules need to be continuously adapted to allow new entrants to come in and push innovation forward. The new entrants that we selected are utilities venturing into neighbouring markets after establishing a strong position in their home market, utility-scale renewables project developers, asset-light software companies aggregating smaller consumers and producers, and different types of communities. We show that well-intentioned rules designed for certain types of market participants can (unintentionally) become obstacles for new entrants. We conclude that the evolution of market rules illustrates the importance of dynamic regulation. At the start of the liberalisation process the view was that we would deregulate or re-regulate the sector after which the role of regulators could be reduced. However, their role has only increased. New playe... [more]

Due to the rapid increase in the consumption of electrical energy and the instability of fossil fuel prices, renewable energy, such as wind power (WP), has become increasingly economically competitive compared to other conventional energy production methods. However, the intermittent nature of wind energy creates certain challenges to the power network operation. The combined economic environmental dispatch (CEED) including WP is one of the most fundamental challenges in power system operation. Within this context, this paper presents a new attempt to solve the probabilistic CEED problem with WP penetration. The optimal WP to be incorporated in the grid is determined in such a way that the system security is within acceptable limits. The system security is described by various fuzzy membership functions in terms of the probability that power balance cannot be met. These membership functions are formulated based on the dispatcher’s attitude. This probabilistic and non-convex CEED proble... [more]

This study assessed whether methods for capturing the pedestrian experience of outdoor lighting, previously evaluated in a full-scale laboratory, were applicable in a real-world setting. It applied an approach capturing the human response to outdoor lighting in a systematic way, by assessing perception, evaluation and behaviour in the lit environment. The study involved 81 participants from two age groups (Young—n: 48, mean age: 26, 63% women; Elderly—n: 33, mean age: 69, 67% women) and was carried out on a pedestrian path in a park in the centre of Malmö, Sweden, in the evenings during wintertime. Two LED lighting applications, differing in light distribution, uniformity and horizontal illuminance, were presented, and the pedestrians’ perception (facial expression recognition and sign reading), evaluation (arousal, valence and perceived outdoor lighting quality) and behaviour (pedestrian flow) were assessed. The results from the perceptual tasks differed significantly between the ligh... [more]

A number of new rural management models have emerged to solve the problems of economic backwardness, insufficient resource utilization, and technical shortages in rural areas in the context of poverty alleviation to the rural revitalization strategy in China. However, the influence of new rural management model under all countermeasures for rural sustainable development with a comprehensive perspective is lacking. Therefore, exploring whether the new rural management model meets the requirements of sustainable development is an urgent issue. From the theory of system metabolism and emergy accounting method, this study classified the government funds for poverty alleviation measures as import resources, and analyzed the metabolic structure, efficiency, and the rural development factors of Chehe Village before and after poverty alleviation measures are carried out (the year of 2012 and 2019) to verify whether the new model was sustainable. According to the results of this study, the new... [more]

In order to reduce the energy consumption of HVAC systems in buildings, the use of energy-saving solutions is necessary. One of these solutions is ventilation, which is usually used for maintaining acceptable indoor air quality and thermal comfort. As the change in outdoor environment is unpredictable and the occupant control is spontaneous, it is critical to control the windows and HVAC systems to achieve a maximum use of outdoor air for indoor ventilation. A new rule-based control strategy that could change the opening factor of windows is proposed in this study and its effectiveness was tested in five representative climates, ranging from a subtropical region to a severely cold region. A building model was set up and the indoor air temperature and energy consumption were predicted using EnergyPlus. The results show that the proposed control strategy can utilize ventilation to maintain a comfortable indoor environment with an annual uncomfortable percentage in an occupied period lowe... [more]

The issue discussed in this article concerns corporate social responsibility (CSR), which is playing an increasingly important role in the context of sustainable development of enterprises. The purpose of the current work was to assess the practices applied in the area of corporate social responsibility in water and sanitation companies, based on the opinions of employees and managers. The motivation for undertaking research on this topic resulted from the scarcity of scientific studies on the measurement of the corporate social responsibility concept in water and sanitization companies using a multidimensional approach based on the ISO 26000 standard. The study used methodological triangulation based on the use of qualitative and quantitative research methods to verify information from different sources. This approach allowed the authors to obtain the data more effectively and analyze the problem from numerous different perspectives. The study used an interview method that targeted wa... [more]

Global warming, as the result of the negative impact of humans on climate change, has been observed based on various data sources. Various measures have aimed to reduce anthropogenic factors, and also to lower carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane CH4 emissions. One of the main contributors to anthropogenic factors is organic waste in municipal solid waste landfills. There are many landfills where cost-effective rapid technologies for the identification and quantification of CH4 emission sites are not applied. There is still a need for the development of accessible and cost-effective methods that react in a real-time manner for the rapid detection and monitoring of methane emissions. This paper’s main goal is to create a prototype sensor suitable for operational measurement of the gas value, suitable for integration into geodetic equipment or an unmanned aerial vehicle system. A sensor system (device) was developed, which consisted of three semiconductor sensors—MQ2, MQ4, and MQ135—which ai... [more]

Energy markets play an important role in achieving sustainable development goals. The sector of energy has a huge impact on the environment, hence changes in it are the highest priority in the European Union. The process of shaping and developing the internal energy market plays an important role in improving the security of supply of energy resources for the entire union. It requires a number of political negotiations, strategic decisions regarding energy liberalization, in particular, the electricity and gas sectors, as well as the adoption of sectoral legislation. The aim of the conducted research is to estimate the level of development of energy markets in the EU countries and to indicate the position of Poland in comparison to other countries. The research was performed in several stages. The first phase consisted of selecting appropriate diagnostic variables that comprehensively describe energy markets in countries belonging to the European Union. The next stage was collecting da... [more]

The urban population increase in the world, the economic expansion, and the rise in living standards associated with society’s habits and lifestyles accelerated the municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in undeveloped countries, such as in Brazil, in which the generation increased by 25% from 2012 to 2017. In the same period, the São Paulo state, the richest Brazilian state, increased its municipal solid waste generation by 51%. All this MSW needed to be collected and transported, and this process has a high economic and environmental cost. Therefore, this study aims to identify, using spatial analysis, the routes used by MSW trucks to estimate the distances traveled to dispose of the MSW on a regional scale considering all municipalities in the São Paulo state. The findings showed that the landfill numbers decrease, mainly individual ones, which receive MSW only from the city where it is located. Otherwise, the consortium landfills number is increasing, as well as the number of munic... [more]

The purpose of this investigation is to propose a way for acquiring the foremost window allocation scheme to have the best trade-off among energy, environmental, and comfort criteria in a building. An advanced decision-making tool, named the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), is utilized to find the best building amongst different alternatives for having windows on the building façades. Three conditions, namely two parallel, two perpendicular, and three façades, considered as A, B, and C types, respectively, are investigated. For each type, four possible orientations are studied. Heating, cooling, and lighting energy demands in addition to carbon dioxide equivalent emission and thermal and visual comfort are taken into account as the investigated criteria, and they are all evaluated in a simulation environment. The results show that for the modular residential buildings chosen as the case study and located in Tehran, Iran, having windows on the nor... [more]

This study focuses on a modeling framework to support mobility planners and energy providers in the sustainable development of electric mobility in urban areas. Specifically, models are provided to simulate measures for the optimal management of energy demand and thoughtful planning of charging infrastructures in order to avoid congestion on the power grid. The measures, and consequently the models, are classified according to short-term initiatives based on multimodality between electric vehicles and public transport (Park and Ride), as well as medium to long-term initiatives based on the development of an energy-oriented land use of the city. All the models are data-driven, and different sets of floating car data available for the city of Rome (Italy) have been exploited for this aim. The models are currently being implemented in an agent-based simulator for electric urban mobility adopted by the National Agency for Energy and Environment in Italy (ENEA).

Due to the rising water deficit in agriculture, digestate is increasingly being considered not only as an alternative fertiliser but also as a potential source of water. The use of recycled water for crop irrigation requires that it be treated in such a way that contaminants from the fermented biomass are not returned to the environment. Membrane processes can provide promising results in this regard. This study seeks to achieve membrane filtration using flat ceramic membranes for effective digestate liquid fraction treatment from a municipal waste biogas plant. Membranes of 1, 5, 15, and 50 kDa, and 0.14 and 0.45 µm are examined. The results obtained show that the application of a sedimentation process, as a preliminary step in the purification of the digestate, allows for a significant reduction in the content of contaminants in the solution. By analysing the effectiveness of the liquid fraction of the digestate purification in the sedimentation-membrane filtration process using flat... [more]

Banks Strait, Tasmania, Australia, has been identified as a potential site for the deployment of tidal turbines. In this study, the characterization of sediment transport and large sand waves for this site is performed. Observations of bed level change collected from surveys in 2018 showed a migration of large sand waves over a period of nine months. Migration rates in an excess of one hundred meters for nine months were found, which are large compared to the rate reported at other coastal sites, by several meters per year. A validated hydrodynamic model is coupled with a morphodynamic model to perform sensitivity tests and identify what parameters influence migration to better understand sediment dynamic in the Banks Strait. Numerical analysis showed a constant shift of the sand waves profile in an eastward direction, consistent with the observations. This migration was strongly linked with tidal asymmetry, with a residual current flowing towards the east. The principal parameters dri... [more]

The article analyses energy and environmental operating parameters of a compression ignition internal combustion engine running on HVO-biobutanol and castor oil fuel blends, also comparing them with parameters of an engine running on convection diesel. Since biobutanol is known for poor lubrication characteristics, it was mixed with 5% of castor oil. The obtained blend of biobutanol and castor oil was mixed with HVO at 2/95, 10/90, and 20/80 v/v and fed to the compression ignition internal combustion engine. The presented physicochemical indicators justified the use of the said fuel blends. Constant engine crankshaft speed of 2000 rpm and a variable load expressed as BMEP of 0.1−0.9 MPa was selected in the research. When using the biobutanol−castor oil additive (hereafter simply biobutanol additive) in HVO, an increase in the rate of heat release (ROHR) and the convergence of its value to that of to conventional diesel fuel was observed. A decrease in BTE values was also observed with... [more]

The aim of the study was to assess leaching of Cl−, SO42−, and PO43− from ashes formed in household furnaces. The ashes were obtained following the combustion of conventional fuels, namely wood and hard coal, and alternative fuels with various fractions of municipal waste in a household boiler. Aqueous leachates of the ashes were used to determine concentrations of chlorides by titration (Mohr’s method) (21.3−3049.6 mg/dm3), sulphates by the gravimetric method (12.2−244.1 mg/dm3), and phosphates by spectrophotometry (0.01−67.2 mg/dm3). It was found that co-combustion of municipal waste with plastic-coated paper cartons, diapers, or a mixed waste fraction leaves the greatest amount of ashes on the furnace grate. The highest amounts of Cl−, SO42−, and PO43− were leached from ashes generated from burning a mix of wood and coals, or wood alone (different species). The addition of municipal waste to the process of burning the conventional and alternative fuels studied did not significantly... [more]

Aesthetic appearance of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products, such as semitransparent PV (STPV) glass, is crucial for their widespread adoption and contribution to the net-zero energy building (NZEB) goal. However, the visual distortion significantly limits the aesthetics of STPV glass. In this study, we investigate the distortion effect of transparent periodic-micropattern-based thin-film PV (PMPV) panels available in the market. To minimize the visual distortion of such PMPV glass panel types, we design and develop an aperiodic micropattern-based PV (APMP) glass that significantly reduces visual distortion. The developed APMP glass demonstrates a haze ratio of 3.7% compared to the 10.7% of PMPV glass. Furthermore, the developed AMPV glass shows an average visible transmittance (AVT) of 58.3% which is around 1.3 times higher than that of AMPV glass (43.8%). Finally, the measured CIELAB values (L* = 43.2, a* = −1.55, b* = −2.86.) indicate that our developed AMPV glass posse... [more]

The capture, storage and utilization of CO2 through hydrate-related technology is a promising approach to addressing the global warming issue. Dissociation is required after the transportation of CO2 gas in the form of a self-preserving hydrate. In order to investigate the dissociation behaviors as the self-preservation effect is removed, CO2 hydrates were frozen, and then the self-preservation effect was removed through uniform heating. An evident dependence of hydrate dissociation duration on the initial dissociation rates after losing the preservation effect was observed. The results in the silica gel powder and sodium dodecyl sulphate solution showed significant reductions in the initial dissociation temperatures and a slight decrease in the initial dissociation rates when compared with those of pure water. The reductions in the former were 2.88, 2.89, and 5.73 °C in silica gel, sodium dodecyl sulphate, and a combination of the two, respectively, while the reductions in the latter... [more]

A large population size and rapid economic growth have resulted in a huge amount of housing consumption in China. Therefore, it is critical to identify the determinants of housing carbon footprint (CF) and prepare appropriate carbon mitigation measures. By employing the IPCC accounting method, input-output analysis and the stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) model, this study aims to study the spatio-temporal patterns and identify the driving factors of housing CF. The results show that regional disparities and urban-rural differences existed during the period 2012−2017. The results of the extended STIRPAT model show that population scale and energy consumption per unit building area are the two dominant contributors to the housing CF increments in all areas. While, family size only shows significant negative impact in eastern and western regions, the per capita disposable income only induces higher housing CF in rural areas, and energy s... [more]

Fossil fuel dependency in developed countries is worrisome due to the lack of energy security that traditional energy generation provides. In order to prevent future energy problems and to maintain a sustainable society, some countries are starting to develop renewable energy sources. In this research, biomass energy is introduced as a solution not only to reduce fossil fuel dependency, but also to improve municipal solid waste management. The purpose of this report is to construct a distributed power generation system combining the superheated steam gasification of solid waste and photovoltaic panels, and to verify the feasibility of generating power at the consumption site. It also focuses on optimizing the current waste superheated steam gasification system and compares the superheated steam gasification technology with other waste to energy technologies, such as downdraft air gasification and solid waste direct combustion. Finally, the report analyzes the economic, environmental an... [more]

The aquatic plant Pistia stratiotes L. is environmentally hazardous and requires effective methods for its utilization. The harmfulness of these plants is determined by their excessive growth in water bodies and degradation of local aquatic ecosystems. Mechanical removal of these plants is widespread but requires fairly resource-intensive technology. However, these aquatic plants are polymer-containing substrates and have a great potential for conversion into bioenergy. The aim of the work was to determine the main patterns of Pistia stratiotes L. degradation via granular microbial preparation (GMP) to obtain biomethane gas while simultaneously detoxifying toxic copper compounds. The composition of the gas phase was determined via gas chromatography. The pH and redox potential parameters were determined potentiometrically, and Cu(II) concentration photocolorimetrically. Applying the preparation, high efficiency of biomethane fermentation of aquatic plants and Cu(II) detoxification were... [more]

Power production from coal combustion is one of two major anthropogenic sources of mercury emission to the atmosphere. The aim of this study is the analysis of the carbon footprint of mercury removal technologies through sorbents injection related to the removal of 1 kg of mercury from flue gases. Two sorbents, i.e., powdered activated carbon and the coke dust, were analysed. The assessment included both direct and indirect emissions related to various energy and material needs life cycle including coal mining and transport, sorbents production, transport of sorbents to the power plants, and injection into flue gases. The results show that at the average mercury concentration in processed flue gasses accounting to 28.0 µg Hg/Nm3, removal of 1 kg of mercury from flue gases required 14.925 Mg of powdered activated carbon and 33.594 Mg of coke dust, respectively. However, the whole life cycle carbon footprint for powdered activated carbon amounted to 89.548 Mg CO2-e·kg−1 Hg, whereas for c... [more]

Extracting oil from spent coffee grounds (SCG) for biodiesel production has recently attracted much research interest. Large amounts of organic solvents are involved for oil extraction and biodiesel synthesis. Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is an emerging thermochemical technology with great potential for biocrude production from a broad range of feedstocks. This study attempted to compare two SCG valorization options: route 1, oil extraction for biodiesel production followed by HTL of defatted SCG; and route 2, direct HTL of raw SCG. The microwave-assisted extraction conditions were optimized to effectively remove oil from SCG using response surface methodology. Under optimal conditions, an SCG oil yield of 8.4 wt.% could be achieved. HTL of defatted SCG generated less biocrude (18.9 wt.%) than that of raw SCG (28.1 wt.%). The biochemical compositions of resultant biocrudes were largely different from each other. The life cycle assessment was conducted on each of the SCG valorization... [more]

The energy efficiency of the construction sector should be determined by the cleanliness of the environment and, thus, the health of society. The scientific aim of this article was to develop a methodology for determining the optimum thickness of thermal insulation, taking into account both economic and ecological aspects and considering both heating and cooling costs. The method takes into account the number of degree days of the heating period, as well as the number of degree days of the cooling period. Variants in terms of different types of thermal insulation, various types of construction materials for building walls, climatic zones and heat sources, were taken into consideration. In order to find the optimum thicknesses of thermal insulation, both in economic and ecological terms, a metacriterion was used. The optimum thicknesses of thermal insulation with the use of the metacriterion were obtained in the range of 0.11−0.55 m. It was observed that the values of the optimum heat t... [more]