Hydrogen production from surplus solar electricity as energy storage for export purposes can push towards large-scale application of solar energy in the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East region; this region’s properties of high solar irradiance and vast empty lands provide a good fit for solar technologies such as concentrated solar power and photovoltaics. However, a thorough comparison between the two solar technologies, as well as investigating the infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates for a well-to-ship hydrogen pathway, is yet to be fully carried out. Therefore, in this study we aim to provide a full model for solar hydrogen production and delivery by evaluating the potential of concentrated solar power and photovoltaics in the UAE, then comparing two different pathways for hydrogen delivery based on the location of hydrogen production sites. A Solid Oxide Cell Electrolyzer (SOEC) is used for technical comparison, while the shortest routes for hydrogen transport were a... [more]

Biomass pyrolysis is considered as a thermochemical conversion system that is performed under oxygen-depleted conditions. A large body of literature exists in which thermodynamic equilibrium (TE) and kinetic approaches have been applied to predict pyrolysis products. However, the reliability, accuracy and predictive power of both modeling approaches is an area of concern. To address these concerns, in this paper, two new simulation models based on the TE and kinetic approaches are developed using Aspen Plus, to analyze the performance of each approach. Subsequently, the results of two models are compared with modeling and experimental results available in the literature. The comparison shows that, on the one hand, the performance of the TE approach is not satisfactory and cannot be used as an effective way for pyrolysis modeling. On the other hand, the results generated by the new model based on the kinetic approach suggests that this approach is suitable for modeling biomass pyrolysis... [more]

The solar laser power scaling potential of a side-pumped Ce:Nd:YAG solar laser through a rectangular fused silica light guide was investigated by using a 2 m diameter parabolic concentrator. The laser head was formed by the light guide and a V-shaped pump cavity to efficiently couple and redistribute the concentrated solar radiation from the parabolic mirror to a 4 mm diameter, 35 mm length Ce(0.1 at.%):Nd(1.1 at.%):YAG laser rod. The rectangular light guide ensured a homogeneous distribution of the solar radiation along the laser rod, allowing it to withstand highly concentrated solar energy. With the full collection area of the parabolic mirror, the maximum continuous wave (cw) solar laser power of 40 W was measured. This, to the best of our knowledge, corresponds to the highest cw laser power obtained from a Ce:Nd:YAG medium pumped by solar radiation, representing an enhancement of two times over that of the previous side-pumped Ce:Nd:YAG solar laser and 1.19 times over the highest... [more]

Underground coal gasification (UCG) may change the energy consumption structure from coal-dominated to gas-dominated in the years to come. Before that, three important problems need to be solved, including failure of gasification due to large amounts of water pouring into the gasifier, environmental pollution caused by gas migration to the surface, and low calorific value caused by poor control of the degree of gasification. In this study, a geological model is first established using the computer modeling group (CMG), a commercial software package for reservoir simulation. Then, the inflow of coal seam water into the gasifier during the controlled retracting injection point (CRIP) gasification process is simulated based on the geological model, and the maximum instantaneous water inflow is simulated too. Meanwhile, the migration of gasified gas is also simulated, and the migration discipline of different gases is shown. Finally, the pressure distributions in two stages are presented,... [more]

The occurrence and migration of coalbed methane (CBM) is inseparably associated with the pore structure within the coal seams. Three Permian Longtan Formation tectonic coal samples (QL, XL, XT) from Guizhou Province were studied to determine pore size distribution and characteristics, as well as factors that influence adsorption. Adsorption test results show that all samples generally have “ink bottle”-type pores, with large pore capacity but poor connectivity. Furthermore, the fractal dimension Df, the tortuosity “τ”, and tortuous fractal dimension DT of samples were calculated. Among the studied tectonic coals, moisture, ash, tortuosity, and volatile fraction have a positive effect on the maximum adsorption capacity (VL), whereas intact coals’ tortuosity volatile has a negative correlation with the maximum adsorption capacity (VL).

This research article proposes a novel design of solar still; furthermore, it investigates, experimentally, its thermal and productivity performances, as well as its efficiency, under the realistic meteorological conditions of the city of Gafsa, Tunisia (34.4311° N, 8.7757° E), in terms of ambient temperature and solar irradiance. The novel proposed design presents a cylindrical solar still with a rotating transparent plastic (Plexiglass) cover, wiped continuously on the inner surface. A specific technological configuration of the evaporation and condensation compartments is elaborated. A real prototype is manufactured in order to carry out the performance experimental investigation. A performance comparison is carried out between the cylindrical transparent plastic cover rotating and it being fixed, for two experimentation days presenting slightly different meteorological conditions. The experimental water and plastic cover temperatures, the hourly and the cumulative water production,... [more]

The open-source code DualSPHysics, based on the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method for solving fluid mechanics problems, defines a complete numerical environment for simulating the interaction of floating structures with ocean waves, and includes external libraries to simulate kinematic- and dynamic-type restrictions. In this work, a full validation of the SPH framework using experimental data available for an experimental test campaign on a 1:37-scale floating offshore wind turbine tension-leg platform (TLP) is presented. The first set of validation cases includes a surge decay test, to assess the quality of the fluid−solid interaction, and regular wave tests, which stimulate the mooring system to a large extent. During this phase, tendons (tension legs) that are simulated by MoorDyn+ are validated. Spectral comparison shows that the model is able to capture the surge and pitch dynamic amplification that occurs around the resonant fundamental mode of vibration. This work concludes... [more]

A novel, fully distributed controller with a rapid convergence rate is developed to ensure the optimal loading dispatch for interconnected DC MGs. It comprises local and global-control levels, handling the economic load allocations in a finite-time manner, for distinct MGs and cluster of MGs, respectively. The local-control layer guarantees MG’s economic operation by matching the incremental costs (ICs) of all DGs, respecting the power equilibrium among generations and demands, DGs’ generation limits, as well as the transmission line losses. Furthermore, the economic operation of battery energy sources is considered, in the optimization problem, to strengthen the overall reliability and maximize energy arbitrage. The global controller adjusts MGs’ voltage references to determine the optimal exchanged power, between MGs, for reducing the global total generation cost (TGC). A rigorous analysis is developed to confirm the stable convergence of the developed controller. Extensive simulatio... [more]

Distribution networks have undergone a series of changes, with the insertion of distributed energy resources, such as distributed generation, energy storage systems, and demand response, allowing the consumers to produce energy and have an active role in distribution systems. Thus, it is possible to form microgrids. From the active grid’s point of view, it is necessary to plan the operation considering the distributed resources and the microgrids connected to it, aiming to ensure the maintenance of grid economy and operational safety. So, this paper presents the proposition of a hierarchical model for planning the daily operation of active distribution grids with microgrids. In this case, the entire grid operation is optimized considering the results from the microgrid optimization itself. If none of the technical constraints, for example voltage levels, are reached, the grid is optimized, however, if there are some violations in the constraints feedback is sent to the internal microgr... [more]

An experimental rig of a zeotropic mixture separation condensation-based dual-temperature refrigeration cycle is built and the mixture R290/R600a is used as the refrigerant. Compared with a conventional cycle, the proposed refrigeration system demonstrates its application advantages under an on−off operation mode. Furthermore, the on−off periodic operation behaviors of this refrigeration system are experimentally investigated. The influence of a different refrigerant charge, a refrigerant mass fraction, a throttling valve opening, and ambient temperature are explored to evaluate the cyclic operation characteristics. The results reveal that the compressor average power for the duration of the compressor startup increases and the compressor duty cycle first declines then increases with the rise of the refrigerant charge. The average compressor during an on-period decreases from 104.5 W to 79.2 W and meanwhile the compressor duty cycles fluctuates between 72.1% and 96.9% as the R600a-char... [more]

In an islanded DC microgrid with multiple distributed generators (DGs), the droop control is employed to realize proportional current sharing among the DGs in the microgrid. The action of the droop control causes a deviation in the DC bus voltage which is exacerbated by the line impedance between the DG and the DC bus. In this paper, an advanced distributed secondary control scheme is proposed to simultaneously achieve accurate voltage regulation and cooperative current sharing in the islanded DC microgrid system. The proposed distributed secondary controller is introduced in the cyber layer of the system, and each controller shares information with neighbouring controllers via a communication network. The distributed technique maintains the reliability of the overall system if some part of the communication link fails. The proposed controller uses the type-II fuzzy logic scheme to adaptively select the secondary control parameters for an improved response of the controller. The suffic... [more]

Municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment is one of the major contributors to carbon emissions. The improvement in MSW treatment carbon emission efficiency is crucial for China to achieve its CO2 emission targets. Firstly, this study used the super-efficiency SBM-DEA model to calculate the MSW treatment carbon emission efficiency in 31 provinces in China from 2010 to 2019. The results show that the MSW treatment carbon emission efficiency in all provinces except Shanghai and Jiangsu is less than 1, and the provinces with high efficiency are mainly located in eastern China. Secondly, the spatial auto correlation model and spatial Markov chain are used to test the regional differences and the spatial spillover effect of efficiency. The results show that the national average efficiency shows a fluctuating downward trend, and only the western region achieves a gradual increase. The regional differences in China’s MSW processing efficiency of carbon emissions show a fluctuating upward trend, an... [more]

Enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose materials has been identified as the rate-limiting step during anaerobic digestion. The application of pretreatment techniques can influence the biodegradability of lignocellulose substrate. This study combined Fe3O4 nanoparticles, which serve as a heterogeneous catalyst during anaerobic digestion, with different particle sizes of Arachis hypogea shells. Batch anaerobic digestion was set up at mesophilic temperature for 35 days. The results showed that 20 mg/L Fe3O4 additives, as a single pretreatment, significantly influence biogas and methane yields with an 80.59 and 106.66% increase, respectively. The combination of 20 mg/L Fe3O4 with a 6 mm particle size of Arachis hypogea shells produced the highest cumulative biogas yield of 130.85 mL/gVSadded and a cumulative methane yield of 100.86 mL/gVSadded. This study shows that 20 mg/L of Fe3O4 additive, combined with the particle size pretreatment, improved the biogas and methane yields of Arachis hy... [more]

The reduction of carbon emissions in the power industry will play a vital role in global decarbonization. The power industry has three main strategies to achieve this reduction in emissions: to implement lean marketing strategies that effectively target users of power and encourage them to adopt decarbonizing technologies and services; to optimize the efficiency of these users of power; and to improve the efficiency of renewable energy sources. This paper establishes a comprehensive evaluation system of indexed data from power industry customers for the development of lean marketing strategies. This system evaluates indexes derived from customer data on renewable energy sources, carbon emissions, energy efficiency, and customer credit. It adopts the DEMATEL−CRITIC combination weight assignment and VIKOR method for system evaluation and conducts simulation experiments on customer data in a region of Northeastern China to give an example of how this method could be applied in practice to... [more]

Through new core wettability simulation technology and the single-sided unidirectional imbibition experimental method, the influence of core wettability on oil imbibition characteristics was studied by using artificial cores with wettability index in the range of −0.9~0.95. Results show that for the cores with permeability from ultra-low to medium−high, the imbibition time shows a monotonically decreasing law with the increase in the wettability index. In the weak water-wet range, the imbibition time increases significantly with the weakening of water-wet. Oil imbibition rate goes up with the increase in wettability index. In the strong water-wet range, the imbibition rate will change significantly with wettability. In the water-wet zone, there is a positive correlation between imbibition oil limit recovery and wettability index, according to which a power exponent model of them is established. The imbibition−displacement ratio, which characterizes the contribution rate of oil recovery... [more]

Understanding solar energy has become crucial for the development of modern societies. For this reason, significant effort has been placed on building models of solar resource assessment. Here, we analyzed satellite imagery and solar radiation data of three years (2012, 2013, and 2014) to build seven predictive models of the solar energy obtained at different altitudes above sea level. The performance of four machine learning algorithms was evaluated using four evaluation metrics, MBE, R2, RMSE, and MAPE. Random Forest showed the best performance in the model with data obtained at altitudes below 800 m.a.s.l. The results achieved by the algorithm were: 4.89, 0.82, 107.25, and 41.08%, respectively. In general, the differences in the results of the machine learning algorithms in the different models were not very significant; however, the results provide evidence showing that the estimation of solar radiation from satellite images anywhere on the planet is feasible.

Electromagnetic (EM) heating is an emerging method for storing renewable energy, such as photovoltaic solar and wind electric power, into aquifers. We investigate how the captured energy increases the temperature of a prototypical deep aquifer for a six-month period and then to which extent the stored energy can be recovered during the consecutive six months. Water injected at a constant flow rate is simultaneously heated using a high-frequency electromagnetic microwave emitter operating at the water natural resonance frequency of 2.45 GHz. The coupled reservoir flow and EM heating are described using Darcy’s and the energy balance equations. The latter includes a source term accounting for the EM wave propagation and absorption, modeled separately using Maxwell’s equations. The equations are solved numerically by the Galerkin least-squares finite element method. The approach was validated using EM-heating input data obtained from controlled laboratory experiments and then was applied... [more]

This paper proposes a fault diagnosing system for the Ice-Storage Air-Conditioning System (ISACS) to supervise the operation conditions of the brine chillers. Combining the Radial Basis Function Network (RBFN) and Robust Quality Design (RQD), an Enhanced RBFN (ERBFN) is proposed to pursue fast and accurate fault diagnosis. The RQD method is used to adjust the parameters in the RBFN training stage to improve the searching ability, and good performance with a close spike tracking capability can be seen. The efficiency of the brine chiller in the ISACS was considered as the quality characteristics, the values measured by all instruments were considered as control factors, and noise factors were abnormal variable control factors in the system. ERBFN can improve the efficiency of the ISACS and prevent the equipment from being damaged without warning. ERBFN is used for fault diagnosis to ensure the ISACS performance is normal. Experimental results are provided to show the effectiveness of th... [more]

An LCC/SP self-tuning wireless charging system is proposed herein for use in a wireless charging test bench. With different dislocations in addition to changes in the coil self-inductance and mutual inductance caused by different secondary magnetic shielding materials, the system can ensure that the high power factor of the primary side remains unchanged without changing the circuit topology. Based on this normalized detuning LCC/SP circuit model, a switch-controlled capacitor (SCC) self-tuning method based on PI control is proposed. The control scheme employs only two MOSFETs and capacitors, without WIFI communication or parameter identification. A 2 kW experimental device was set up in the laboratory, and experimental verification was carried out with large-scale dislocations and different secondary magnetic shielding materials. The experimental results confirm that the system can maintain a high power factor (>0.9) under a system mutual inductance variation of 47.7% and secondary co... [more]

To avoid the potential adverse impacts of climate change from global warming, it is suggested that the target of net zero emissions should be reached by this mid-century. Thailand is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Since electricity generation is one of the largest producers of carbon dioxide emission, the associated emissions must be greatly reduced to achieve the targets mentioned above. Thus, new generation expansion plans must be well developed. This paper discusses the development of generation expansion plans considering Thailand’s latest policies along with enhancement of the existing multi-period linear programming model, allowing new electricity generation technologies having low emissions, e.g., solar PV with battery and hydrogen blending in natural gas, to be integrated into generation expansion planning. Then, four generation expansion plans with different levels of hydrogen blending in natural gas are proposed and discussed. It is found that Thailand can achie... [more]

The increasing use of high-voltage transmission wires requires more and more high-voltage pylons, and sometimes, constructing pylons in mining areas is very urgent. To ensure the safe operation of pylons, coal pillars with large side lengths are usually used to provide sufficient support; however, this results in a huge waste of coal. Eight high-voltage pylons are arranged on the ground surface corresponding to the location of working face 1110 of Sima Coal Mine in Shanxi Province, China, which cannot be mined by traditional methods. Taking this as the engineering background, the failure mode of high-voltage pylon is first analyzed. Using FLAC3D numerical simulations, the influence of five different mining plans on ground surface deformation in working face 1110 is evaluated, and the vertical settlement and horizontal deformation in different areas of the ground surface, as well as the variation law of horizontal strain and slope are analyzed. According to the numerical simulation resu... [more]

Active magnetic bearings, which are open-loop and unstable, require a feedback control system to ensure stable operation of the rotating machines that they support. Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers are widely used in field applications of these bearings for this purpose. PID controllers are designed to work effectively within the linear region of operation of the rotating machines. Due to the inherent nonlinearity of the active magnetic bearings, large unbalance forces that may occur in these machines result in nonlinear vibration responses. Therefore, the PID controller’s effectiveness to control the vibration of the rotating machines is considerably reduced when the unbalance forces in these machines become large. Other control strategies, such as the fuzzy logic and the sliding mode control schemes, are more apt to deal with the nonlinear responses of the rotating machines supported by active magnetic bearings. The present work proposes an integrated fuzzy bang-ban... [more]

This paper presents the case study of provisions of frequency containment reserve (FCR) with a battery electric storage system (BESS). The aim of the case study is the evaluation of the technical possibility to provide FCR in Latvian power systems after all Baltic power systems will synchronize with the Continental Europe Synchronous Area (CESA). To simulate the dynamics of BESS capacity and its state of charge (SOC), authors have developed an algorithm and mathematical model (it can be realized in different calculation programs). The case study calculations verified the model. The algorithm is conditionally divided into two parts—FCR provision and SOC recovery−which in turn is divided into three possible models of BESS state of charge recovery options: (1) overfulfillment—exceeding the specified FCR amount, (2) deadband utilization, and (3) BESS charging or discharging through scheduled transactions in intraday power market. The modelling was performed using historic frequency data of... [more]

There are several methods of biomass conversion, including hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). The implementation of microwave technology in the HTL process is still new, especially on the conversion of marine biomass into bio-crude. In this work, the macroalgae Chaetomorpha sp. was used as the biomass feedstock to produce phenolic-rich bio-oil through microwave-assisted HTL. Chaetomorpha sp. was abundantly found in Malaysia, creating a green tides issue. By utilizing these algae, the green tide issue can be solved and value-added bio-oil is obtained. However, bio-oil from macroalgae has a relatively low heating value, restricting its fuel application. Therefore, it is suggested to be used for bio-polymer synthesis, including bio-based phenol formaldehyde. In this study, the effect of different parameters, such as reaction temperature, preloaded pressure, water-to-algal biomass ratio, and holding time, on both the bio-oil yield and phenolic yield was evaluated. Folin−Ciocalteu method was... [more]

Performance analysis is challenging in modern power distribution networks due to the increasing penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) interfaced by voltage source converters (VSCs). Parameter uncertainty, black-box models of the components, and low inertia are some of the issues that must be addressed. The latter can represent high vulnerabilities to sudden load changes in a microgrid (MG). Additionally, the islanded operation represents a challenge for inverter-based (DERs), where secondary control must regulate the microgrid frequency and voltage to its nominal values. When a secondary control strategy is implemented, it is necessary to validate its performance under several conditions. Most existing research papers focus on the microgrid’s small-signal and transient stability. At the same time, little has been done on the influence of the load model on voltage stability. This type of analysis is required to ensure an adequate transition between the grid-connected and st... [more]