Researchers, architects and planners are increasingly urged to develop and apply sustainable methods and solutions to reduce the impact of the built environment on climate, adapt cities to climate change and reduce or eliminate resource depletion and building-related carbon emissions. In recent years, taking advantage of state-of-the-art computational and environmental design tools, researchers and designers are developing new digital workflows, methods and solutions to investigate climate-optimal and performative buildings and urban forms. This perspective paper analyses state-of-the-art computational methods; form generation processes; and tools, criteria and workflows that present how these are integrated into climatic form finding, allowing the improvement of building and urban environmental performances. Additionally, current challenges and future directions are presented.

This work demonstrates that the quasi-homogeneous distribution of concentrated solar flux is achievable by using double paraboloid reflection, with a primary reflector to concentrate the sunlight, and a secondary reflector to homogenise the radiation flux. For that, three slightly different secondary reflectors were designed and manufactured, matching the specifications of the paraboloid concentrator of the SF60 solar furnace located in PSA—Plataforma Solar de Almería, which was used as primary reflector. Starting from preliminary simulations of the optical apparatus, the secondary geometries were selected and then the reflectors were manufactured from 7075-T6 aluminium alloy, using conventional and CNC machining technologies, with further processing to achieve a mirror-like finish. The results obtained from solar irradiation tests corroborate that the “double paraboloid reflection” methodology proposed in previous theoretical works seems to be technically feasible and can be a solutio... [more]

The Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region is a critical contributor to global development from an environmental perspective. This study has reviewed carbon emissions from energy generation, influence factors from the population, economic growth and renewable energy, emission and energy intensity projection, spatial distribution characteristics, and decarbonization strategy. This work utilizes a comparison methodology between ASEAN countries in the emission intensity and energy intensity in the future projection of electricity conditions in 2030 or 2040, as well as opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as determined by the national policies of each government. The results show that Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia produce 79.7% of the electricity in the ASEAN region. As a developing country, Indonesia has the largest population and gross domestic product (GDP) but has the highest predicted emission intensity, of 0.97 CO2e/MWh, in 2030. V... [more]

Understanding the micro-occurrence mechanism of tight oil has long been a daunting challenge in the exploration and development of unconventional resources. This article discusses the micro-occurrence mechanism of tight oil through continuous extraction by combining thin casting, fluorescent thin sections, environmental scanning electron microscope observations, physical property testing, and X-ray diffraction experiments. The results indicated that in the tight sandstone of the Chang 8 Formation in the Ordos Basin, the average tight oil content was 35.46% for microscale pores, 35.74% for nanoscale pores, and 28.79% for mineral surfaces. Six types of micro-occurrence states of tight oil were identified: emulsion, cluster, throat, star-like, isolation, and thin film forms. Although clay minerals and heavy components dominate the adsorption of tight oil on mineral surfaces, micro-occurrence is fundamentally an oil−rock interaction process. Hence, oil−rock interactions and occurrence stat... [more]

Identifying decarbonization strategies at the district level is increasingly necessary to align the development of urban projects with European climate neutrality objectives. It is well known that district heating and cooling networks are an attractive energy system solution because they permit the integration of renewable energies and local excess of hot or cold sources. The detailed design and optimization of network infrastructures are essential to achieve the full potential of this energy system. The authors conducted an attributional life cycle assessment to compare the environmental profile of five distribution network infrastructures (i.e., pipes, heat carrier fluid, trenches, heat exchangers, valves, and water pumps) based on a study case in Marseille, France. The work aims to put into perspective the environmental profile of subsystems comprising a district heating infrastructure, and compare pipe typologies that can be used to guide decision-making in eco-design processing. R... [more]

The production of biogas from biodegradable waste generated in all sectors of the economy in Poland is a key issue for the diversification of energy sources and climate neutrality. The biogas balances presented in the literature based on bio-waste often contain overly optimistic data, which in reality only represent the theoretical potential of biogas in Poland. The pragmatic approach presented in this study fills a gap in research by presenting a technical balance of biogas (real potential) that can be realistically achieved. The objective of the work was to perform a biogas balance in the context of electricity and heat generation in cogeneration units. The tests made it possible to estimate the technical potential of biogas, depending on the source of its generation, the possibility of its conversion to biomethane and biohydrogen and the methods of its use. The research results showed a 30% increase in biogas potential on an annual basis compared to the current state, resulting in a... [more]

Energy has the most significant input to agricultural production. The EU’s effort to produce a carbon-neutral economic entity necessitates changes in the energy mix used for agricultural production. Therefore, we employ different variables, in particular, the emissions generated by energy sources, namely coal, natural gas, and diesel gas and their interlinkages with the GDP share generated from agriculture. The data are annual and refer to the period 1970−2020. The ARDL methodology is the econometric tool employed. The year 1990 is identified as a statistically significant break point for all variables, while for the cointegrating equation, the year 2009 appears to play a significant role. Emissions generated by coal appear to play a vital role in the GDP share generated by agriculture and, therefore, should be the main focus of the policy measures taken. Coal should be replaced by other renewable sources or the use of technologies by farmers that improve energy efficiency in order to... [more]

Carbon emissions are rapidly increasing with continuing global economic development, necessitating an urgent energy revolution. Often, when calculating carbon footprint, analysts have failed to account for changes in capital stock and the impact of indirect emissions caused by the consumption of imported products. Furthermore, the homogenization of industrial and resident sectors has reduced our understanding of the specific driving forces behind carbon emissions. To avoid such locational and temporal biases, this study employs a dynamic input−output model to re-estimate the carbon footprint of only residents. We deconstruct residential emissions into different consumption categories and conduct a comparative analysis between developed and developing countries from across the world. To this end, data from 44 global economies were obtained from the World Input−Output Database for the period from 2000 to 2014. For developing countries, food consumption had the highest share of embodied c... [more]

The automotive upholstery industry, which processes bovine leathers, has struggled with vast amounts of solid waste, of which the majority are fractions, such as shavings and splits and offcuts, both containing chromium (Cr) and free of Cr. In this work, a novel leather waste-to-fertiliser approach has been tested: four lightly processed (incubation with effective microorganisms) and three aggressively processed (using pyrolysis or hydrolysis processes) tanned leather waste fractions were used. They were applied as organic nitrogen-based fertilisers in two separate glasshouse experiments, consisting of four subsequent harvests, under spring−autumn conditions in northern Poland. The Cr stressing effect caused by bovine shavings containing Cr and splits and offcuts containing Cr stimulated an increase in ryegrass growth after 30 days, providing twice the dry matter yield than bovine shavings free of Cr and splits and offcuts free of Cr, then (after 90 and 120 days) it inhibited growth. T... [more]

Direct air capture (DAC) is considered one of the mitigation strategies in most of the future scenarios trying to limit global temperature to 1.5 °C. Given the high expectations placed on DAC for future decarbonisation, this study presents an extensive review of DAC technologies, exploring a number of techno-economic aspects, including an updated collection of the current and planned DAC projects around the world. A dedicated analysis focused on the production of synthetic methane, methanol, and diesel from DAC and electrolytic hydrogen in the European Union (EU) is also performed, where the carbon footprint is analysed for different scenarios and energy sources. The results show that the maximum grid carbon intensity to obtain negative emissions with DAC is estimated at 468 gCO2e/kWh, which is compliant with most of the EU countries’ current grid mix. Using only photovoltaics (PV) and wind, negative emissions of at least −0.81 tCO2e/tCO2 captured can be achieved. The maximum grid inte... [more]

This review focuses on analysing the strategy and aspirations of the European Union within the hydrogen sector. This aim is achieved through the examination of the European Parliament’s hydrogen strategy, allowing for a study of actions and projects in hydrogen technologies. The Parliament’s hydrogen strategy is the document that provides the guideline of how the EU intends to function in the hydrogen sector and manages to cover a wide range of topics, all of them significant to represent the entirety of the hydrogen sector. It touches on subjects such as hydrogen demand, infrastructure, research, and standards, among others. The review discusses also the aspect that the EU intends to be a leader in the hydrogen sector, including the large-scale industrialization of key elements such as electrolysers, and this purpose is corroborated by the large number of associations, strategies, plans, and projects that are being established and developed by the European Union. The most important co... [more]

In this study, the performance of different cooling technologies from energy and economic perspectives were evaluated for six different prototype residential Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) within a planned future city district in central Sweden. This was carried out by assessing the primary energy number and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) for each building model and cooling technology. Projected future climate file representing the 2050s (mid-term future) was employed. Three cooling technologies (district cooling, compression chillers coupled/uncoupled with photovoltaic (PV) systems, and absorption chillers) were evaluated. Based on the results obtained from primary energy number and LCCA, compression chillers with PV systems appeared to be favorable as this technology depicted the least value for primary energy use and LCCA. Compared to compression chillers alone, the primary energy number and the life cycle cost were reduced by 13%, on average. Moreover, the district cooling s... [more]

The accelerated digitization of the third decade of the twenty-first century poses a challenge both for science and for practice. The study presents partial results of continuous research on online reputation management of entities operating in the environment of low-carbon economy. The aim of the study is the application of a standardized methodology for calculating the Total level of Online Reputation (TOR) to determine the market position of selected Electric Vehicles (EVs) compared to the market position of conventional Vehicles with Internal Combustion Engines (ICEVs) in the online environment. The research sample consists of the ten best-selling Vehicles and the ten best-selling Electric Vehicles in the world by sales in the year 2021. Based on the measurement results and the subsequent analysis of the context, it can be concluded that the EV market shows the parameters of a developing market not only from the point of view of sales but also in terms of the overall level of Onlin... [more]

The article concerns the verification of links between the energy intensity of public urban transport, regional economic development and urbanisation in the light of sustainable development challenges and club convergence processes. Three research questions were formulated in the article: (1) Does the regional economic development of voivodeships affect the energy intensity of public urban transport? (2) Does urbanisation shape energy consumption patterns in public urban transport (and are there agglomeration effects)? (3) Does the level of urbanisation of voivodeships depend on their regional level? The study covered 16 subregions of Poland from 2010 to 2020. A spatial dynamic exploration of the relationships between energy intensity patterns of public urban transport and the phenomenon of urbanisation and regional economic development was carried out. Panel models of vector autoregression and panel causality testing were used. The influence of the economic development of regions and... [more]

This study focused on Middle Permian Lucaogou Formation saline lake source rocks, utilizing a combination of biomarkers and hydrocarbon generation thermal simulation to analyze their biological compositions, depositional environments, and hydrocarbon generation potential. The Pr/Ph ratio, Ph/nC18 ratio, and Pr/nC17 ratio indicate that the Lucaogou Formation was in a reducing environment during the deposition period, and the lower part of the Lucaogou Formation (P2l1) is more anoxic than the upper part of the Lucaogou Formation (P2l2). The maturity index 20S (%) and ββ (%) reflect that the maturity of organic matter in the P2l1 is slightly higher than that in the P2l2. The G/H index and the ETR index indicate that the stratification of the water column is better during the sedimentary period of Lucaogou Formation and the salinity of the P2l1 is higher than that of the P2l2. The biomarker parameters of nC21−/nC22+, CPI, S/H, and C22T/C21T reflect that the organic matter of the source roc... [more]

One of the major challenges faced by contemporary agriculture is how to achieve better yields of crops and, consequently, higher biomass, even in unfavorable environmental conditions. This challenge corresponds to the assumptions of sustainable development, wherein it is envisaged that plant biomass should be used on a large scale for heat generation or conversion of biofuels. Keeping pace with observed trends, the following study was conducted in order to determine the effect of Cr(VI) on the net calorific value of Zea mays, to assess the impact of this element on soil enzymatic activity, and to identify the effectiveness of compost and humic acids in alleviating possible negative effects of Cr(VI) toxicity. These aims were pursued by setting up a pot experiment, in which soil either uncontaminated or contaminated with increasing doses of Cr(VI) of 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 mg Cr kg−1 d.m. was submitted to biostimulation with compost and the preparation HumiAgra, a source of humic acids,... [more]

This paper addresses the conditions behind energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Poland following its accession to the European Union. The study analyzed some energy, fossil fuel, economic, and environmental indicators, such as energy use, CO2 emissions, driving factors, decoupling elasticity status, and decoupling effort status. It relied on the Kaya identity and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) in determining the drivers of CO2 emissions. As shown by the results, between 2004 and 2020, energy consumption in Poland grew at an average annual rate of 0.8%, while fossil fuel carbon emissions declined at 0.7% per year. Energy intensity was found to be the key force behind the reduction in CO2 emissions, whereas rapid economic growth was the main driver of CO2 emissions. While other factors, i.e., carbon intensity, energy mix, and population, also contributed to reducing the emissions, they had a much smaller—if not marginal—effect. In turn, the decoupling elasticity analys... [more]

The seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to address environmental, social, global, and economic challenges. The SDGs were a continuation of the Millennium Development Goals and assumed a common vision for the year 2030. Efforts to achieve the SDGs must be carried out in an integrated manner, respecting the three pillars of sustainable development, which are economic, social, and environmental. This review analyses the viability of Sustainable Development Goal 17 (SDG 17), which aims to build global partnerships for development. It makes specific reference to multi-stakeholder collaboration between all sectors of society. While the first sixteen SDGs are dedicated to concrete actions, SDG 17 Partnerships for Development coordinates and facilitates the implementation of the other goals. SDG 17 promotes the “right way” of collaboration between different actors through the formation of multi-stakeholder partnerships, which are essential to foster sustainable development. Alth... [more]

The Brazilian energy grid is considered as one of the cleanest in the world, because it is composed of more than 80% of renewable energy sources. This work aimed to apply the levelized costs (LCOH) and environmental cost accounting techniques to demonstrate the feasibility of producing hydrogen (H2) by alkaline electrolysis powered by the Brazilian energy grid. A project of hydrogen production, with a lifetime of 20 years, had been evaluated by economical and sensitivity analysis. The production capacity (8.89 to 46.67 kg H2/h), production volume (25 to 100%), hydrogen sale price (1 to 5 USD/kg H2) and the MAR rate were varied. Results showed that at 2 USD/kg H2, all H2 production plant sizes are economically viable. On this condition, a payback of fewer than 4 years, an IRR greater than 31, a break-even point between 56 and 68% of the production volume and a ROI above 400% were found. The sensitivity analysis showed that the best economic condition was found at 35.56 kg H2/h of the pl... [more]

Sustainable transportation refers to low vehicular greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy efficient vehicles, and affordable modes of transportation, including electric and alternative fuel (AF) vehicles [...]

Efforts to direct the economies of many countries towards low-carbon economies are being made in order to reduce their impact on global climate change. Within this process, replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen will play an important role in the sectors where electrification is difficult or technically and economically ineffective. Hydrogen may also play a critical role in renewable energy storage processes. Thus, the global hydrogen demand is expected to rise more than five times by 2050, while in the European Union, a seven-fold rise in this field is expected. Apart from many technical and legislative barriers, the environmental impact of hydrogen production is a key issue, especially in the case of new and developing technologies. Focusing on the various pathways of hydrogen production, the essential problem is to evaluate the related emissions through GHG accounting, considering the life cycle of a plant in order to compare the technologies effectively. Anion exchange membrane (AEM)... [more]

In the present study, using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Cost−Benefit Analysis (CBA), we assess the economic−environmental performance of an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, fed by cultured crops (i.e., maize and wheat), in Italy. The biogas generated by the AD plant is used for the production of electricity, imputed into the Italian energy grid. The LCA evaluated potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, measured via Carbon Footprint (CF), while the CBA analysed the financial and economic profiles via the Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) indicators. The strength of combining these methodologies is the joint examination of the financial and social−environmental performance of the plant. The results of the CBA are complemented with the GHG emissions avoided by producing electricity from biogas. The CF of 0.28 kg CO2eq·kWh−1 of electricity produced is mainly due to the nitrogen fertilizers involved in the production of the additional feedstock matrix (i.e., mai... [more]

Hydraulic turbines contribute to 60% of renewable energy in the world; however, they also entail some adverse effects on the aquatic ecology system. One such effect is their excessive noise and vibration. To minimize this effect, one of the most effective and feasible solutions is to modify the design of the turbine rotor blade by introducing a skew. In this study, two 0.3-meter tidal turbines with 0-degree (no-skewness) and positive 90-degree skewness made of stainless steel 316L were designed and printed using a 3-D printing powder bed fusion technique. These rotors were then tested at the Emerson Cavitation Tunnel (ECT) at Newcastle University, UK, and the variation in the skewness of the blades of the turbines as a function of the power coefficient on a given tip speed ratio (TSR) value was ascertained. Results showed that the highly skewed rotor had significantly lower drag and torque fluctuations, with a slight decrease in efficiency compared to the non-skewed one, which warrants... [more]

A good outdoor wind environment can guarantee the safety and comfort of student activities. It is also conducive to building energy-saving and low-carbon goals. In this study, the high-rise dormitory area of a university was selected as a research object in the cold region. The study used a combination of numerical simulation and orthogonal tests to analyze the weighting of the influencing factors of the wind environment and to recommend the optimal design scheme. The results indicated that the building layout, building length, width, and height all had different degrees of influence on the outdoor wind environment of the dormitory area. For the slab-type high-rise dormitory, the influence weight of the layout was the strongest, followed by the building height, the width, and, finally, the length. The optimal scheme is a staggered layout with a building length of 50 m, width of 18 m, and height of 85.2 m. The wind environment in this situation performed well in winter and summer. For t... [more]

The challenge of achieving net-zero carbon emissions in the shipping sector is a pressing issue that is yet to be fully overcome. While new fuels and technologies hold promise for the future, they are not currently viable solutions on a large scale in the short-term. One strategy that is being considered as a way to reduce CO2 and CO emissions in the immediate future is carbon capture technology. Additionally, the possibility of a carbon tax being implemented in the future further strengthens the case for the adoption of this technology, which is already quite mature and in use in industries, although it has yet to be developed in the maritime sector. In this paper, the authors start from the definition of carbon capture technology to provide a technical overview of the solutions that are currently available to the maritime sector. Given the absolute innovation of such systems for application on board ships, the authors studied their installation and developed appropriate schemes to il... [more]